LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


GIFT    OF 


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Class 


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Fiftieth  Anniversary 


OF 


MARIETTA  COLLEGE 

1885 


/ 


THE 


ADDRESSES   AI^D  PROCEEDINGS 


CONNECTED  WITH  THE 


Semi-Centennial  Celebration 


OF 


MARIETTA  COLLEGE 

JUNE  28— JULY  1, 

1885, 


Makietta,  uhio  : 
E.  R.  Aldermax  &  Soxs. 

1885. 


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PRELIMINARY  NOTE, 


To  make  arrangements  for  the  celebration  of  the  Fiftieth 
Anniversary  of  the  founding  of  Marietta  College,  the  follow- 
ing committees  were  ap^Dointed  in  1884: 

By  the  Trustees:  Mr.  Beman  Gates,  Mr.  M.  P.  Wells,  and 
Gen.  R.  R.  Dawes. 

By  the  Alumni  Association:  Dr.  J.  D.  Cotton,  Mr.  John 
Mills,  and  Mr.  Charles  G.  Dawes. 

By  the  Faculty:  Professors  T.  D.  Biscoe,  O.  H.  Mitchell, 
and  M.  R.  Andrews. 

These  three  committees  having  been  organized  as  a  gen- 
eral committee,  with  Mr.  Beman  Gates,  Chairman,  and  Pro- 
fessor O.  H.  Mitchell,  Secretary,  arrangements  were  made 
for  the  celebration  of  the  anniversary.  A  circular  was  pre- 
pared extending  a  cordial  invitation  to  all  the  Alumni  and 
other  former  students,  to  the  honorary  Alumni,  to  donors  and 
other  friends  of  the  institution.  In  response  to  the  suggestion 
of  the  committee  the  citizens  of  Marietta  and  Harmar  gener- 
ously proffered  the  hospitality  of  their  homes  to  all  who  might 
be  present  at  the  celebration. 

The  Committee  requested  the  Rev.  Dr.  Israel  W.  Andrews, 
President  of  the  College,  to  prepare  the  Historical  Discourse 
for  the  occasion,  to  be  delivered  on  the  forenoon  of  Com- 
mencement day,  Wednesday,  July  i. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  also  requested  to  deliver 
addresses:  Hon.  William  P.  Cutler,  Marietta,  a  Trustee  since 
1849,  ^^^  address  memorial  of  the  Founders  of  the  College; 
Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  F.  Tuttle,  President  of  Wabash  College,  of 
the    class    of    1841,    an    address    memorial    of    the    Original 


1 661 00 


Faculty;  Colonel  Douglas  Putnam,  Jr.,  Ashland,  Ky.,  class 
of  1859,  *^"  address  memorial  of  the  Deceased  Professors; 
Aaron  A.  Ferris,  Esq.,  Cincinnati,  class  of  1871,  and  Harry 
W.  Nickerson,  Esq.,  Portland,  Oregon,  class  of  1882,  histori- 
cal addresses — the  Literary  Societies. 

Besides  these  semi-centennial  exercises,  invitations  to  deliver 
the  usual  anniversary  addresses  had  been  extended  to  the 
following  gentlemen:  Oration  and  Poem  before  the  Alumni, 
Hon.  John  F:  Follett,  LL.  D.,  Cincinnati,  class  of  1855,  Rev. 
Charles  E.  Lindsley,  D.  D.,  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  class  of 
1840;  Address  before  the  Society  of  Inquiry  and  Y.  M.  C. 
Association,  Rev.  William  G.  Ballantine,  D.  D.,  Professor  in 
Oberlin  Theological  Seminary,  class  of  1868;  Oration  before 
the  Literary  Societies,  Rev.  William  G.  Andrews,  D.  D., 
Guilford,  Conn.,  class  of   1855. 

Arrangements  were  also  made  for  a  dinner  on  Wednesday 
at  one  o'clock,  P.  M.,  to  be  followed  by  a  meeting  at  the' City 
Hall  for  brief  addresses,  by  Hon.  George  Hoadly,  Governor 
of  the  State,  Hon.  Manning  F.  Force,  and  others. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE 

BY    PRESIDENT  ANDREWS. 


The  first  half-century  of  Marietta  College  is  completed 
this  year.  This  period  of  fifty  years,  from  1835  to  1885, 
embraces  only  the  college  history  of  the  institution.  Most 
colleges  date  from  a  point  prior  to  the  beginning  of  their 
college  work.  They  count  in  a  pre-existent  period  of 
greater  or  less  duration.  But  Marietta  was  a  college,  in 
reality  as  well  as  in  name,  fifty  years  ago.  In  the  autumn 
of  1835  there  were  two  college  classes — the  Sophomore 
and  the  Freshman — and  three  years  later  the  members 
of  that  Sophomore  class,  having  finished  their  course,  re- 
ceived their  first  degree  in  the  arts.  Though  our  first 
half-century  is  strictly  a  half-century  of  college  work,  in 
an  historical  sketch  reference  may  well  be  made  to  the 
antecedent  circumstances. 

In  the  year  1830  there  was  established  at  Marietta  by 
Rev.  Luther  G.  Bingham  the  "  Institute  of  Education." 
It  embraced  four  departments  ;  the  two  higher  being 
known  as  the  High  School  and  the  Ladies  Seminary.  At 
first  the  lowest  department  occupied  a  brick  building  on 
Front  street,  originally  the  law  office  of  Governor  Return 
Jonathan  Meigs.  Very  soon  a  building  at  the  South 
corner  of  Putnam  and  Second  streets,  used  of  late  years 
for  law  offices  until  it  was  recently  destroyed  by  fire,  was 
purchased,  and  all  the  departments  were  gathered  there. 
In  February,  1832,  the  High  School  was  removed  to  the 


6 

old  Muskingum  Academy,  then  standing  on  the  lot  next 
north  of  the  Congregational  Church,  where  it  re- 
mained a  few  weeks  till  the  room  known  as  the  Library 
Hall,  on  Front  street,  was  fitted  up  for  it.  Here  it  con- 
tinued till  the  close  of  the  school  year  in  the  summer  of 
1833. 

Mr.  Bingham  was  the  proprietor  of  this  group  of  schools 
and  had  the  general  superintendence,  but  he  employed 
others  in  the  work  of  instruction.  In  an  advertisement 
of  September  11,  1830,  it  is  announced  that  "  the  recita- 
tations  in  the  High  School  will  be  conducted  by  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  Ohio  University,  of  competent  qualification," 
probably  Mr.  Samuel  P.  Robbins,  son  of  a  former  minister 
of  Marietta.  The  next  term  Nelson  Brown,  M.  D.,  a 
graduate  of  Williams  College,  became  instructor  in  the 
High  School.  In  April,  1831,  Mr.  Mansfield  French  is 
associated  with  Mr.  Bingham  as  proprietor,  and  he  and 
Dr.  Brown  give  the  instruction.  In  June,  Mr.  Henr}^ 
Adams,  a  graduate  of  Amherst  College,  takes  the  place  of 
Dr.  Brown,  and  continues  until  August,  1832.  The  fall 
session  of  that  year  opens  with  Mr.  Henry  Smith  as 
teacher  in  the  High  School.  In  the  next  spring  he  re- 
turned to  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  and  Mr.  I). 
Howe  Allen,  from  the  same  seminary,  took  his  place  for 
the  rest  of  the  school  year. 

In  the  spring  of  1832,  after  the  High  School  had  been 
in  operation  about  a  year  and  a  half,  Messrs.  Bingham 
and  French  invite  a  meeting  of  the  friends  of  education 
to  consider  certain  plans  which  they  wish  to  present.  Of 
this  meeting,  held  March  15th,  Dr.  S.  P.  Hildreth  was 
Chairman  and  Mr.  Douglas  Putnam,  Secretary.  The 
propositions  were  read  by  Mr.  French,  and  remarks  were 
made  by  Messrs.  Bingham,  Caleb  Emerson,  Arius  Nye 
and  John  Cotton  ;  after  which  a  Committee  of  seven,  Mr. 
Emerson,  Chairman,  was  appointed  to  report  a  week  later. 
iVt  the  adjourned  meeting,  March  23,  an  elaborate  report 
was  made  suggesting  the  appointment  of  an   advisory 


Board  of  Trust.  This  was  done  ;  and  Caleb  Emerson, 
James  Whitney,  Dr.  S.  P.  Hildreth,  Dr.  John  Cotton, 
Arius  Nye,  Weston  Thomas  and  Douglas  Putnam  were 
appointed.  These  gentlemen  were  not  a  corporation  in 
any  sense,  nor  had  they  any  control  of  the  property,  which 
was  private  ;  but  this  was  the  first  step  in  the  direction 
ot  establishing  a  permanent  institution  of  learning. 

With  the  next  fall  session  (that  of  1832)  began  the  in- 
struction of  Mr.  Henry  Smith,  who  continued  to  teach  in 
Marietta  till  1855.  The  name  of  the  institution,  which 
had  heretofore  been  ''The" Institute  of  Education,"  now 
appears  as  "  The  Marietta  Collegiate  Institute."  In  the 
American  Friend  of  Sept.  8,  which  has  a  full  advertise- 
ment of  the  institution,  there  appears  an  editorial  notice, 
containing  this  among  other  things  :  ''  It  is  the  intention 
of  all  concerned  to  take  early  measures  to  make  the  Ma- 
rietta Collegiate  Institute  an  entirely  public  institution  so 
as  to  perpetuate  its  advantages  on  a  permanent  basis." 

The  proposed  measures  were  taken  a  few  weeks  later. 
The  first  entry  in  the  college  records  bears  date  Nov.  22, 
1832,  when  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Rev.  L.  G. 
Bingham  (on  the  north  corner  of^  Front  and  Scammel 
streets,  for  many  years  the  residence  of  the  late  Weston 
Thomas)  of  which  John  Mills  was  Chairman  and  Douglas 
Putnam,  Secretary.  A  draft  of  a  bill  for  the  incorpora- 
tion of  an  institution  under  the  name  of  the  ''  Marietta 
Collegiate  Institute  and  Western  Teachers'  Seminary," 
was  presented  and  approved,  and  a  committee  appointed 
to  confer  with  Mr.  Smith  with  reference  to  a  permanent 
professorship  in  the  proposed  institution.  The  charter 
was  obtained,  bearing  date  Dec.  17,  the  Hon.  Joseph 
Barker,  Jr.,  being  the  Representative  from  this  county  in 
the  General  Assembly.  The  Board  of  Trustees  consisted 
of  nine  men  :  John  Cotton,  Douglas  Putnam,  John  Mills, 
Luther  G.  Bingham,  Caleb  Emerson,  Arius  Nye,  Jonas 
Moore,  Anselm  T.  Nye,  and  John  Crawford. 

On  the  16th  of  January  the  organization  took  place  by 


the  choice  of  John  Cotton,  M.  D.,  President,  Douglas 
Putnam,  Secretary,  and  John  Mills,  Treasurer.  At  the 
same  meeting  a  resolution  was  adopted  asking  Messrs. 
Bingham  and  French  to  state  the  terms  on  which  they 
would  transfer  their  Institute  property  to  the  Trustees. 
A  few  days  later  these  terms  were  accepted  and  the 
property  was  duly  transferred,  though  the  former  pro- 
prietors were  requested  to  continue  in  charge  till  the  close 
of  the  school  year. 

Before  the  institution  was  opened  in  the  fall  of  1833  in 
its  new  form,  four  young  men  had  been  appointed  to  the 
work  of  instruction,  all  members  of  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Andover.  Two  of  these,  Henry  Smith  and 
D.  Howe  Allen,  had  been  teachers  in  the  High  School  at 
Marietta.  The  first  of  these  was  made  Professor  of  the 
Languages  ;  Mr.  Allen,  Professor  of  Mathematics  ;  Mr. 
Milo  P.  Jewett,  Professor  in  the  Teachers'  department ; 
and  Mr.  Samuel  Maxwell,  Principal  of  the  Preparatory 
department.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  graduate  of  Middlebury 
College,  Messrs.  Allen  aud  Jewett  of  Dartmouth,  and  Mr. 
Maxwell  of  Amherst.  When  the  institute  was  opened 
Oct.  16,  Messrs.  Smith  and  Maxwell  entered  upon  their 
work  of  instruction,  while  the  other  two  remained  in  New 
England  presenting  the  claims  of  the  new  institution  to 
the  friends  of  education  and  religion  in  that  region.  The 
beginning  of  a  new  educational  year  was  a  change 
in  two  respects.  Before,  the  place  of  instruction  was 
the  Library  Hall  on  Front  street ;  now,  it  was  a  large 
new  building  on  the  college  campus.  Then,  it  was  one 
of  a  group  of  schools  under  private  owners  ;  now,  it  is  a 
public  institution,  under  the  control  of  a  chartered  cor- 
poration. 

In  this  sketch  of  educational  work  at  Marietta  prior  to 
the  college  we  may  properly  enough  speak  of  a  still 
earlier  period.  Even  before  the  present  cent.ury  began, 
and  within  the  first  decade  after  the  first  settlement  here 
in  April,  1788,  steps  were  taken  for  the  establishment  of 


9 

an  academy.  In  April,  1797,  a  meeting  of  citizens  was 
held  for  this  purpose,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  pre- 
pare a  plan  of  a  house  suitable  for  the  instruction  of  the 
young  and  for  religious  purposes.  This  committee  con- 
sisted of  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam,^Hon.  Paul  Fearing,  Griffin 
Greene,  Hon.  R.  J.  Meigs,  Jr.,  Charles  Greene,  and 
Joshua  Shipman.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  '^  Musking- 
um Academy,"  and  the  building  was  doubtless  the  first 
structure  erected  for  such  a  purpose  in  the  "  Territory 
northwest  of  the  river  Ohio."  This  was  used  for  worship 
until  the  present  Congregational  Church  was  completed 
in  1808,  and  as  a  place  of  instruction  for  about  a  third  of 
a  century.  The  building  was  moved  in  1832  to  Second 
street  between  Scammel  and  Wooster,  where  it  now  stands. 

The  first  instructor  in  the  Muskingum  Academy,  the 
pioneer  of  the  institutions  for  higher  education  in  Mari- 
etta, was  David  Putnam,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  in 
1793.  How  many  others  of  the  teachers  had  received  a 
liberal  education  is  not  known.  Among  those  who  had 
thus  been  educated  were  Nathan  K.  Clough,  Dartmouth, 
1806  ;  Hon.  Elisha  Huntington,  Dartmouth,  1815,  after- 
wards Lieut.  Governor  of  Massachusetts  ;  Hon.  Wm.  A. 
Whittlesey,  Yale,  1816,  long  a  citizen  of  Marietta,  and  a 
member  of  the  thirty-first  Congress;  and  Levi  Keyes,  Ohio 
University,  1826.  It  is  probable  that  from  the  beginning 
of  the  century  until  the  time  when  Marietta  College  was 
founded  this  town  furnished  almost  uninterrupted,  facili- 
ties for  instruction  in  the  higher  branches  of  an  English 
education,  and  most  of  the  time  for  such  classical  in- 
struction as  was  required  for  preparation  for  college. 

The  charter  obtained  in  December,  1832,  was  defective 
in  giving  no  power  to  confer  degrees,  and  in  having  a 
clause  allowing  the  legislature  to  repeal  it.  In  February, 
1835,  a  new  charter  was  granted  by  the  State,  giving  the 
necessary  power  to  confer  degrees,  and  without  the  ob- 
jectionable clause  authorizing  a  repeal.    The  name  was 


10 

also  changed  from  The  Marietta  Collegiate  Institute  and 
Western  Teachers'  Seminary  to  Marietta  College. 

In  the  spring  of  the  same  year  the  Rev.  Joel  H.  Lins- 
ley,  then  pastor  of  the  Park  Street  Church,  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  was  elected  to  the  presidency.  Thus, 
when  the  fall  session  of  the  institution  was  opened  as 
Marietta  College  in  1835,  the  Faculty  consisted  of  five 
members:  a  President,  who  had  charge  of  the  depart- 
ment of  Moral  and  Intellectual  Philosophy,  a  Professor 
of  the  Greek  and  Latin  Languages,  a  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics and  Natural  Philosophy,  a  Professor  of  Rhetoric 
and  Political  Economy,  and  a  Principal  of  the  Prepara- 
tory department. 

The  college  was  founded  in  the  interests  of  religion  as 
well  as  oi  education.  From  the  first  it  was  intended  to 
be  a  Christian  college.  The  Trustees  in  their  first  pub- 
lished statement,  August,  1833,  say:  ''The  Board  wish 
it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  the  essential  doctrines 
and  duties  of  the  Christian  religion  will  be  assiduously 
inculcated,  but  no  sectarian  peculiarities  of  belief  will  be 
taught.  In  their  annual  report  issued  September,  1835, 
they  say:  ''During  the  past  year  the  Board  of  Trust 
have  received  new  manifestations  of  the  favor  of  God 
upon  the  work  in  which  they  are  engaged.  He  has  en- 
larged the  circle  of  the  friends  and  benefactors  of  the  in- 
stitution, and  has  again  visited  it  with  the  converting  in- 
fluences of  His  Spirit,  bringing  a  large  portion  of  the 
youth  connected  with  it  to  consecrate  themselves  to  the 
service  of  Jesus  Christ.  Engaged  as  the  Board  profess 
themselves  to  be  in  advancing  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom 
by  means  of  this  institution  of  learning,  so  signal  an  ex- 
pression of  the  approbation  of  God  cannot  fail  to  be  the 
occasion  of  devout  gratitude  to  Him  and  of  increased 
ardor  in  the  work. 

In  the  same  report  they  say:  The  honor  of  origina- 
ting Marietta  College  is  not  claimed  by  the  Board  of 
Trust;  its  existence  cannot  properly  be  ascribed  to  them 


11 

or  to  any  combination  of  individuals,  but  to  the  leadings 
of  Divine  Providence."  The  establishment  of  the  col- 
lege not  only  had  the  warm  approval  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent Christian  men  West  and  East,  but  the  Trustees  were 
urged  to  go  forward  by  such  men  as  President  Day  and 
Professors  Goodrich  and  Silliman  of  Yale  College,  Rev. 
Dr.  William  S.  Plumer  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  and 
others.  The  Trustees  seem  to  have  been  influenced  by 
considerations  of  duty  from  the  beginning,  and  their 
earnest,  unceasing  and  self-denying  labors,  with  the  re- 
markable generosity  shown  in  their  oft-repeated  gifts, 
prove  that  they  regarded  themselves  as  engaged  in  a 
work  laid  upon  them  by  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church. 

We  have  been  looking  back  over  this  period  of  fifty 
years  to  see  how  Marietta  College  came  to  be.  We  have 
inquired  into  its  origin  and  antecedents.  Let  us  look 
now  at  its  name  and  its  locality. 

For  the  fifty  years  it  has  remained  in  the  same  place  ; 
it  has  borne  the  same  name  ;  it  has  been  the  same  insti- 
tution. Some  colleges  are  named  from  a  founder,  or 
early  donor,  as  Williams,  Harvard,  Vanderbilt.  Some 
bear  the  name  of  a  distinguished  man,  as  Washington, 
Hamilton,  Franklin,  Lafayette.  Some  are  named  from  a 
state,  as  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  -  Ours  is  named  from 
the  town  where  it  is  located.  There  are  some  advantages 
in  this  method  of  naming.  The  name  of  an  early  donor 
may  be  given  prematurely.  There  are  some  institutions 
that  might  be  glad  to  drop  the  personal  name  they  bear. 
The  name  of  a  state  is  too  general,  and  the  name  of  a 
donor,  or  a  man  ol  eminence,  is  not  a  sufficient  designa- 
tion. The  graduates  of  the  oldest  college  in  the  country  in 
preparing  for  their  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  in 
1886,  are  trying  to  find  out  something  about  John  Harvard. 

Yale  College  seems  to  have  had  at  first  neither  place 
nor  name.  It  dates  from  1700  when  ten  ministers  pre- 
sented some  forty  books  for  the  founding  of  a  college  in 


12 

the  Colony  of  Connecticut.  It  was  chartered  in  1701, 
and  at  their  first  meeting  the  Trustees  ordered  "  that 
there  shall  be  and  hereby  is  erected  and  formed  a  Colle- 
giate School,  wherein  shall  be  taught  the  liberal  arts  and 
languages,  in  such  place  or  places  in  Connecticut  as  the 
said  Trustees  with  their  associates  and  successors  do  or 
shall  from  time  to  time  see  cause  to  order."  It  was 
nominally  at  Saybrook,  but  in  fact  at  Killingworlh,  where 
the  Rector,  or  President,  lived.  After  his  death  in  1707 
the  Senior  class  were  with  the  Rector  at  Milford  and  the 
rest  of  the  students  with  the  tutors  at  Saybrook.  It  was 
finally  located  at  New  Haven  in  1710. 

It  had  no  legal  name  till  1745.  It  was  simply  The 
Collegiate  School.  In  1718  Elihu  Yale  sent  from  London 
goods  to  the  value  of  two  htindred  pounds,  equal  to  about 
nine  hundred  dollars,  and  the  Trustees  gave  his  name  to 
a  building  they  were  then  erecting.  By  degrees  the  name 
was  applied  to  the  institution  itself.  It  was  not  till  1745 
that  the  name  was  given  by  charter  to  the  corporation. 

The  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  operation  since  1748,  is 
called  by  various  names.  At  the  inauguration  of  the  pres- 
ent President  the  Trustees  speak  of  it  as  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  ;  the  under  graduates  call  it  Nassau  Hall  ;  and  Dr. 
McCosh  calls  it  Princeton  College.  Even  in  its  own  cata- 
logues it  receives  the  popular  as  well  as  the  official  desig- 
tion.  Not  unfrequently  we  hear  it  said  that  such  a  man 
was  educated  at  New  Haven,  or  at  Cambridge,  instead  of 
Yale  or  Harvard. 

Marietta  is  a  good  name  for  our  college.  We  have 
those  among  our  benefactors  whose  names  might  have 
been  given  to  the  college  with  much  appropriateness. 
But  they  would  not  have  desired  it.  Its  present  name 
identifies  the  institution  with  the  town.  Marietta  men 
founded  it  and  they  have  most  generously  nourished  it. 
The  name  has  thus  an  appropriateness  aside  from  its  being 
a  designation.  The  name  is  euphonious  and  historical.  It 
takes  us  back  to  the  most  interesting  decade  of  our  na- 


13 

tional  history.  It  was  given  to  the  infant  city  by  the 
officers  of  our  War  of  Independence  just  before  the  break- 
ins  out  of  the  French  Revolution  that  carried  to  the  scaf- 
fold  the  unfortunate  Marie  Antoinette,  and  was  intended 
to  commemorate  the  sovereigns  by  whose  aid  our  Inde- 
pendence was  achieved.  As  the  day  approaches  which 
will  mark  the  centennial  of  the  founding  of  Ohio,  Mari- 
etta will  become  more  and  more  a  familiar  word  to  the 
people  of  the  State  and  the  great  Northwest.  We  are 
glad  that  no  one  has  tempted  our  Trustees  to  transfer  this 
college  to  some  other  locality. 

As  the  college  has  remained  in  the  same  town  where 
its  existence  began,  so  has  it  remained  m  the  same  part 
of  the  town.  The  private  institution  which  was  its  pre- 
cursor had  two  or  three  local  habitations  ;  but  the  college, 
as  well  as  the  collegiate  institute,  has  always  been  on  the 
city  square  between  Fourth  and  Fifth  streets,  Putnam 
and  Butler.  In  the  early  days  the  question  of  a  change 
of  location  was  discussed.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees 
in  September,  1835,  Dr.  Cotton  was  authorized  to  purchase 
the  square  known  as  the  Foster  Square  (between  Fifth 
and  Sixth  streets  and  South  of  Wooster).  In  the  Janu- 
ary following  this  entry  appears  :  "  The  following  resolu- 
tion was  submitted  by  C.  Emerson  and  unanimously 
adopted  :  Resolved,  as  the  present  opinion  of  this  Board, 
that  it  is  expedient  to  erect  the  college  buildings  of  Ma- 
rietta College  on  the  hill  land  purchased  by  Doctor  Moore 
of  D.  H.  Buell,  Esq.,  or  on  lands  contiguous  thereto ; 
provided  suitable  accommodations  and  arrangements  can 
be  made  for  that  purpose."  The  magnificent  views  which 
a  site  on  the  hill  furnishes  were  a  strong  inducement  to 
make  the  change,  but  other  considerations  finally  decided 
the  question.  Probably  the  present  site  is  the  best  in  the 
town  for  the  purpose. 

The  south  building  of  the  present  group  was  com- 
menced in  1832,  by  Messrs.  Bingham  and  French,  and 
was  completed  by  the  Trustees  in  1833.   It  was  originally 


14 

intended  to  be  three  stories  in  height,  and  a  catalogue 
issued  in  1832  gives  a  plate  of  it  as  such  a  building  ;  but 
the  plan  was  doubtless  changed  before  the  edifice  was 
finished.  The  land  attached  to  the  building  and  trans- 
ferred with  it  to  the  Trustees  in  1833  was  a  little  more 
than  half  the  square — the  half  on  the  Fifth  street  side, 
with  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  front  on  Fourth  street. 
The  campus,  or  college  yard  proper,  was  a  lot  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  width  running  through  from 
Fourth  street  to  Fifth,  and  lying  a  little  south  of  the 
middle  of  the  square.  There  were  three  dwelling 
houses  on  the  square,  all  on  the  Fourth  street  front, 
and  a  brick  building  on  Putnam  street,  erected  in 
1813  for  a  cotton  factory.  In  the  winter  of  1834-35, 
the  house  of  Mr.  Billy  Todd,  at  the  corner  of  Putnam 
and  Fourth,  .was  purchased.  It  was  used  till  1870  as 
the  President's  house,  and  for  students'  rooms  till 
1874,  when  it  was  taken  down.  The  lots  south  of  the 
original  college  yard,  with  a  brick  dwelling  house  built 
by  Benjamin  Corp  in  1817,  were  purchased  of  Wm. 
Slocomb  in  1836.  The  house  was  afterward  owned  by 
Mr.  Hinman,  but  came  into  the  possession  of  the  college 
in  1854.  Since  1870  it  has  been  used  for  the  Preparatory 
department,  a  large  frame  addition  having  been  made  to 
it.  The  brick  buildnig  on  Putnam  street  was  fitted  up 
and  used  for  some  years  for  the  English  school,  and  for 
the  academy,  and  was  removed  in  1869. 

The  building  erected  in  1832-33,  now  used  as  a  dormi- 
tory, served  for  all  purposes  till  1850.  It  contained,  besides 
rooms  for  students,  the  chapel,  recitation  rooms,  with  ac- 
commodations for  the  library,  cabinet,  and  apparatus. 
Rooms  in  the  basement  were  intended  ft^r  recitation  pur- 
poses, and  were  so  used  for  about  ten  years. 

The  cornerstone  of  the  middle  building  of  the  group 
was  laid  at  Commencement,  1845,  the  Hon.  Lewis  Cass,  of 
Michigan,  making  a  brief  address  on  the  occasion.  Ke- 
marks  were  also  made  by  President  Linsley  and  Nahum 


15 

Ward,  Esq.  The  whole  work  of  the  college  having  been 
crowded  into  one  building  for  so  long  a  time,  the  greatly 
increased  accommodations  furnished  by  the  new  struc- 
ture were  fully  appreciated  both  by  faculty  and  students. 
It  was  used  when  first  occupied  in  1850  for  the  most  part 
as  now;  save  that  then  the  chapel  service  was  held  on 
the  second  floor  where  now  are  the  Latin  and  Rhetorical 
rooms,  and  the  college  library  occupied  a  part  of  the 
room  then  as  now  known  as  "  Slocomb  Hall,"  while  the 
libraries  of  the  literary  societies  were  in  the  alcoves  in 
the  society  halls. 

The  completion  of  the  north,  or  library,  building  in 
1870,  enabled  us  by  the  transfer  of  the  chapel  service  to 
provide  two  additional  recitation  rooms,  and  to  give  to 
the  college  and  society  libraries  their  present  elegant 
and  commodious  quarters. 

A  word  more  may  be  said  about  these  buildings.  They 
w^ere  built  almost  exclusively  with  home  funds.  The  first 
money  raised  at  Marietta  was  to  purchase  the  Institute 
property.  What  was  obtained  abroad  was  used  for  the 
support  of  the  professors  and  other  kindred  purposes. 

The  second  edifice  originated  in  an  effort  to  provide  a 
temporary  building  for  the  Philosophical  and  Chemical 
lectures.  It  was  proposed  to  raise  one  thousand  dollars 
in  subscriptions  of  two  dollars,  each  donor  to  have  cer- 
tain privileges  of  attendance  upon  lectures.  The  plan 
was  subsequently  enlarged  and  the  present  building  was 
erected.  For  it  the  college  is  indebted  to  the  citizens  of 
Marietta  and  Harmar,  with  some  aid  from  other  parts  of 
the  county.  The  whole  work  was  done  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  building  committee  appointed  by  the  donors, 
Hon.  Rufus  E.  Harte  being  the  architect  and  superin- 
tendent. The  original  subscription  is  interesting  for  the 
signatures,  containing  nearly  two  hundred  names,  most  of 
them  autographs. 

The  third  building  was  also  erected  with  home  funds, 
though  in  a  little  different  sense.     For  this  the  college  is 


16 

indebted  to  the  generosity  of  the  Alumni.  It  is  their  gift 
to  their  mother,  and  was  intended  to  be  a  Memorial 
Alumni  Hall,  and  to  furnish  accommodation  for  the 
college  and  society  libraries.  The  first  contribution  for 
this  specific  purpose  is  well  remembered.  The  President 
was  spending  a  sabbath  in  an  eastern  city.  A  graduate 
of  the  college  who  was  taking  him  to  church  spoke  of  the 
desirableness  and  importance  of  the  Alumni  contributing 
to  the  funds  of  the  institution,  and  intimated  his  own 
purpose  to  do  something  in  that  direction.  The  sugges- 
tion was  made  to  him  in  reply  that  one  of  the  most  press- 
ing wants  of  the  college  was  better  accommodations  for 
the  valuable  and  relatively  large  libraries  of  the  college 
and  of  the  literary  societies,  and  that  the  hope  had  been  en- 
tertained that  the  Alumni  might  undertake  the  erection  of 
a  building  for  such  a  purpose.  The  suggestion  was  favor- 
ably received,  and  the  next  morning  brought  a  check  for 
$500.  With  so  generous  a  gift  to  inaugurate  it  the  eff'ort 
could  not  fail  of  success;  and  for. fifteen  years  we  have 
been  enjoying  the  accommodations  of  this  fine  edifice. 
Thus  this  college  has  had  her  buildings  erected  by  the 
citizens  of  the  place  and  its  vicinity,  and  by  her  children 
who  sought  to  provide  for  her  material  wants.  She  has 
squandered  no  money  in  brick  and  mortar  for  the  pur- 
poses of  display,  but  from  the  first  there  has  been  the 
earnest  desire  to  furnish  both  instructors  and  students 
such  books  as  were  needed  for  their  work. 

In  the  first  catalogue,  issued  in  the  year  1837-38,  these 
words  are  found  :  ''  The  college  library  contains  about 
3,000  volumes,  embracing  an  extensive  and  choice  selec- 
tion of  philological  works  procured  by  the  professor  of 
languages  on  his  recent  visit  to  Europe.  For  this  portion 
of  the  library  a  convenient  room  has  been  fitted  up, 
which  is  open  to  the  students  a  portion  of  each  day  for 
reference  and  study."  How  the  college  came  by  these 
philological  books  is  told  by  Eev.  John  Todd,  D.  D., 
writing  in  1847  :  *'  A  few  years  since  a  plain  farmer  left 


17 

his  hard-earned  property  to  the  care  of  a  few  friends  to 
distribute.  We  gave  $1,000  to  each  of  several  colleges, 
and  directed  that  the  money  be  laid  out  for  a  library.  In 
consequence  of  these  books  the  now  able  President  of 
Marietta  College  (Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Smith)  has  compiled 
a  lexicon,  which  is  an  honor  to  him  and  to  oar  country. 
He  has  dedicated  it  to  the  memory  of  the  good  man  who 
gave  the  money.  What  a  beautiful  monument  has  God 
thus  erected  to  the  memory  of  Samuel  Stone  !  " 

That  the  Trustees  of  an  institution  just  starting  into 
life  should  have  approprfated  for  the  purchase  of  Greek 
and  Latin  classics,  with  lexicons,  grammars  and  other 
helps,  the  first  thousand  dollars  given  for  books  is  worthy 
of  record.  It  may  truly  be  said  that  the  Trustees  of 
Marietta  College  have  from  the  first  appreciated  the  im- 
portance of  a  good  library.  Books  they  have  held  in  higher 
esteem  than  buildings.  They  have  not  compelled  their 
professors  to  make  brick  without  straw.  At  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  in  18G0  the  whole 
number  of  volumes  in  the  college  and  society  libraries 
was  17,000.  There  were  then  only  fifteen  colleges  in  the 
United  States  that  reported  a  larger  number.  According 
to  the  last  report  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education, 
of  362  colleges  reported,  twelve  have  more  books  than 
Marietta,  two  have  the  same  number,  and  347  have  less. 
Our  total  is  now  somewhat  larger  than  at  the  date  of  the 
Commissioner's  report,  being  33,000  volumes.  At  the 
one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Yale  College, 
President  Woolsey  gave  the  number  of  volumes  in  their 
college  library  as  22,000.  At  our  fiftieth  anniversary, 
we  report  exclusive  of  the  societies,  20,000. 

Much  is  said  of  late  of  the  use  of  books  in  a  college 
library  by  the  students  for  reference.  It  will  be  noted 
from  the  extract  just  read  from  our  first  catalogue  that 
arrangements  of  this  kind  were  made  here  vA"y  early,  so 
far  as  the  classical  department  of  study  was  concerned. 
The  classical  books  were  placed  in  a  convenient  room, 


18 

open  to  the  students  a  portion  of  every  day  for  reference 
and  study.  All  the  early  students  will  remember  the 
Philological  room,  where  the  Philological  library  was  kept. 
Though  there  have  been  some  changes  of  rooms,  it  is 
pleasant  to  know  that  the  Philological  room  of  old  is  the 
Greek  room  of  to-day. 

While  the  books  purchased  for  the  college  library  have 
been  for  the  most  part  those  directly  connected  with  the 
work  of  instruction,  it  has  been  enriched  by  gifts  from 
various  persons,  more  particularly  in  the  historical  de- 
partment. Prominent  among  the  names  of  these  donors  is 
that  of  the  late  Samuel  P.  Hildreth,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.  Dr.  Hil- 
dreth,  who  came  to  Marietta  from  Massachusetts  early  in 
the  century,  was  an  indefatigable  collector  of  historical 
material  as  well  as  specimens  in  the  department  of 
Natural  History.  Both  his  valuable  collections  were 
given  to  the  college,  and  are  designated  as  the  Hildreth 
Cabinet  and  the  Hildreth  Cabinet  Library.  The  latter, 
to  which  additions  have  been  made  by  his  son,  Dr.  George 
0.  Hildreth,  now  contains  over  eight  hundred  volumes. 
In  this  collection  are  also  many  manuscripts  relating  to 
the  early  history  of  Ohio,  gathered  and  bound  by  Dr. 
Hildreth. 

The  correspondence  and  other  papers  of  General  Rufus 
Putnam,  including  nearly  twenty  commissions,  civil  and 
military,  the  earliest  dating  back  to  1760,  have  also  been 
given  to  the  college  by  his  grandson,  the  late  Col.  William 
R.  Putnam.  By  these  and  other  gifts  the  library  has 
been  growing  more  and  more  valuable  in  the  department 
of  American  history,  especially  that  of  Ohio.  And  when 
by  and  by  there  shall  come  to  its  alcoves  other  collections 
of  books,  pamphlets,  and  manuscripts,  in  accordance  with 
the  expressed  purpose  of  the  owners,  the  library  of 
Marietta  College  will  have  few  equals  in  this  department. 

A  valuable  addition  was  made  to  the  library  a  few 
years  since  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  W.  Lord,  widow  of  the  late 
Dr.  Asa  D.  Lord,  so  long  and  prominently  connected  with 


19 

educational  work  in  Ohio,  and  afterwards  Superintendent 
of  the  State  Asylum  for  the  Blind  at  Batavia,  New  York. 
The  gift  comprised  about  a  thousand  volumes  and  five 
hundred  pamphlets,  mostly  of  an  educational  character 
and  including  many  rare  journals  and  reports. 

What  has  been  the  character  of  Marietta  College?  Has 
it  been  a  genuine  college?  Has  its  character  corres- 
ponded to  its  name?  It  has  not  called  itself  a  university; 
it  has  not  professed  to  do  university  work,  in  distinction 
from  college  work,  if  the  distinction  can  be  stated.  It  has 
aimed  to  give  young  men*  such  facilities  of  study  and  in- 
struction that  they  cpuld  be  recognized  in  the  world  of 
letters  as  men  of  liberal  culture. 

The  name  of  college  was  given  to  it  by  the  legislature 
in  1835,  and  there  were  two  college  classes  in  the  autumn 
of  that  year.  At  the  beginning  there  were  four  depart- 
ments of  instruction,  each  in  charge  of  a  permanent  pro- 
fessor. There  were  the  departments  of  Moral  and  Intel- 
lectual Philosophy,  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  of 
Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy,  and  of  Rhetoric  and 
Political  Economy.  There  was  not  at  first  a  distinct  de- 
partment of  Natural  Science,  though  instruction  was 
given  in  Chemistry,  etc.,  by  the  Professor  of  Natural  Phi- 
losophy. In  this  Marietta  was  not  an  exception;  at  that 
time  the  Juniors  in  Williams  College  recited  in  Chemis- 
try to  a  tutor,  and  heard  a  few  lectures  from  a  professor. 
But  in  1840  provision  was  made  here  for  regular  instruction 
in  Chemistry  and  Mineralogy,  and  in  1846  this  depart- 
ment was  established  by  the  election  of  a  permanent  pro- 
fessor. From  that  time  to  this  the  time  of  one  professor 
has  been  devoted  to  this  class  of  studies. 

Though  there  was  no  professorship  of  Chemistry  at 
first,  there  was  one  of  Rhetoric  and  Political  Economy. 
When  this  was  left  vacant  in  1840  by  the  resignation  of 
Professor  Allen,  the  work  was  divided  between  Professor 
Kendrick,  who  was  elected  in  his  place,  and  Professor 
Smitli.    The  catalogue  for  that  year  gives  their  work  as 


20 

follows:  Henry  Smith,  Professor  of  Greek  and  Rhetoric; 
John  Kendrick,  Professor  of  Latin,  Political  Economy, 
and  English  '  Literature.^  A  few  years  later  the  two 
languages  were  brought  together  again  under  Professor 
Smith,  and  the  two  English  branches  were  placed  in 
charge  of  Professor  Kendrick.  On  the  election  of  Pro- 
fessor Smith  to  the  presidency  in  1846,  Professor  Ken- 
drick was  made  professor  of  the  two  languages,  and  the 
English  work  was  divided  among  the  different  members 
of  the  Faculty.  As,  besides  the  four  permanent  officers, 
there  was  a  tutor,  there  were  five  men  engaged  in  college 
instruction.  With  three  exercises  a  day  of  each  class, 
and  four  classes,  there  would  be  twelve  exercises  each 
day  for  the  five  instructors,  so  that  no  one  would  be  re- 
quired to  attend  more  than  three  recitations  or  lectures 
a  day. 

This  was  the  general  plan  for  about  twenty-five  years, 
when  a  Professorship  of  Rhetoric  and  English  Literature 
was  re-established,  and  a  few  years  later  the  department 
of  ancient  languages  was  divided.  For  the  last  twenty 
years  there  have  been  six  permanent  officers  of  instruc- 
tion ;  two  in  the  higher  English  studies  (as  Mental  and 
Moral  Philosophj^  Rhetoric,  Logic,  English  Literature, 
Political  Economy,  Civil  Government,  International  Law, 
etc.,)  two  in  the  general  departments  of  the  classic 
languages,  giving  instruction  also  in  German  and  French, 
and  two  in  the  departments  of  Mathematics  and  the 
various  branches  of  Natural  Science.  In  recent  years 
all  the  college  work  has  been  done  by  the  perma- 
nent professors,  the  time  of  the  tutor  having  been  given 
to  the  preparatory  department.  It  should  be  stated  that 
at  no  time  have  the  college  professors  been  required  to 
give  instruction  in  the  preparatory  department.  If  any 
temporary  work  has  been  done  there  it  has  been  volun- 
tary, and  extra  compensation  has  been  made. 

We  need  not  be  ashamed  of  this  record  of  the  work 
done  here.     That  Marietta  entered  upon  her  career  with 


21 

four  permanent  officers  of  instruction^  and  upon  her 
second  quarter  century  with  five,  and  for  many  years  has 
had  six,  whose  whole  time  has  been  given  to  the  college 
classes,  entitles  her  to  great  credit;  much  more  than  she 
may  receive  from  those  who  have  little  knowledge  of  the 
history  of  colleges  in  this  country.  Colleges  are  a  little 
ambitious  to  show  a  large  list  of  names  in  their  faculties, 
and  many  persons  doubtless  think  that  the  old  institu- 
tions have  always  had  many  professors. 

When  Timothy  Dwight  became  President  of  Yaie 
College,  the  institution  lacked  only  five  years  of  the  close 
of  its  first  century.  President  Dwight  entered  upon  his 
college  work  with  one  professor  and  three  tutors.  There 
was  a  chair,  as  we  say,  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy  ;  but  none  of  Latin,  none  of  Greek,  none  of 
Natural  Science,  none  of  Rhetoric  and  English  Literature, 
none  of  Political  Science.  The  President  with  Professor 
Josiah  Meigs,  and  Tutors  Stebbins,  Sherman,  and  Atwa- 
ter,  constituted  the  college  Faculty.  Far  be  it  from  me 
to  say  anything  in  disparagement  of  those  tutors.  Roger 
Minott  Sherman  became  one  of  the  most  eminent 
lawyers  in  New  England.  When  a  boy  of  ten  years 
I  lost  no  opportunity  of  hearing  this  eloquent  advocate 
make  his  appeals  to  the  jury.  He  became  one  of  the  Su- 
preme Judges  of  Connecticut,  and,  had  it  not  been  for  his 
connection  with  the  Hartford  Convention,  he  could  have 
had  whatever  he  wished  in  the  way  of  political  preferment. 
Tutor  Atwater,  another  of  President  Dwight's  Faculty, 
achieved  distinction  also.  Five  years  later,  one  year  after 
leaving  his  tutorship,  he  became  President  of  Middlebury 
College,  and  subsequently  held  the  same  office  in  Dickinson 
College,  Pennsylvania.  This  suggests  that  there  is  some- 
thing not  entirely  unlike  this  in  the  experience  of  Ma- 
rietta. Though  no  one  of  her  tutors  is  known  to  have 
been  president  of  two  colleges  in  succession,  it  is  true 
that  two  of  her  first  three  tutors  became  college  presidents. 
I  may,  perhaps,  be  allowed  to  add  that  the  first  tutor  who 


22 

served  under  me,  taking  office  in  1855,  may  be  compared 
judicially  with  Roger  Minott  Sherman,  as  the  other  two 
of  whom  I  have  spoken  have  been  compared  with 
Jeremiah  Atwater,  my  tutor  of  1855  being  now  one  of 
the  Supreme  Judges  of  Ohio.  I  have  said  that  President 
Dwight  had  with  him  at  first,  in  the  instruction  of  the 
undergraduates  of  Yale  College,  but  one  professor. 
There  was  no  linguistic  professor  there  till  1805,  when 
James  L.  Kingsley  was  elected  Professor  of  Hebrew, 
Greek,  and  Latin.  There  was  no  separate  professor  of 
Greek  till  1831. 

The  history  of  Harvard  is  similar.  Besides  the  pres- 
ident there  was  in  1800,  when  Harvard  was  in  the 
last  half  of  her  second  century,  but  one  professor  whose 
duties  were  in  what  we  should  call  the  college  depart- 
ment, Samuel  Weber,  Professor  of  Mathematics  and 
Natural  Philosophy.  There  was  no  professor  of  Latin  or 
Greek  till  1811.  Williams  College,  which  began  its  work  in 
1793,  started  with  a  president  and  one  tutor.  There  was 
not  even  a  professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philoso- 
phy for  thirteen  years,  and  none  of  the  classics  for 
twenty-two  years.  And  there  was  but  one  chair  for  the 
two  ancient  languages  till  1853.  The  college  laws,  1795, 
make  no  mention  of  professors.  The  president  and 
tutors  are  the  teachers  and  executive  body. 

This  glance  at  the  early  work  of  some  of  our  colleges 
of  highest  repute  shows  that  almost  all  their  instruction 
was  at  first  by  tutors  instead  of  professors.  Often  these 
tutors  began  their  teaching  immediately  after  their 
own  graduation.  The  difference  between  permanent  and 
temporary  instructors  was  the  same  then  as  now,  and  it 
was  a  great  improvement  in  a  college  when  students  re- 
ceived their  instruction  from  permanent  professors.  At 
Marietta  there  has  been  no  occasion  for  this  change,  as 
nearly  all  the  instruction  has  been  professorial  from  the 
beginnning.  In  the  first  catalogue  issued  every  study 
now  thought  essential  to  a  liberal  education  is  enumerated. 


23 

• 

Even  the  German  is  not  omitted  ;  and  through  almost 
the  whole  history  of  the  college,  German  has  been  studied, 
either  as  required  or  optional.  Political  Science  has  also 
had  a  prominent  place.  Complaint  is  often  made  that  in 
many  colleges  little  or  no  attention  has  been  given  to 
studies  of  a  governmental  and  economic  character. 
Whatever  may  be  true  of  other  colleges.  Marietta  is 
certainly  not  open  to  this  charge.  These  branches  have 
always  been  taught  here,  and  for  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  they  have  been  made  specially  prominent. 

The  best  course  of  study,  however,  requires  efficient 
trustees  and  able  instructors.  Without  these,  no  institu- 
tion will  do  educational  work  of  a  high  grade.  A  brief 
reference  will  be  sufficient,  as  memorial  addresses  have 
already  been  delivered. 

The  two  charters  of  December,  1832,  and  February,  1835, 
contain  the  names  of  the  same  nine  gentlemen.  The 
resignation  of  Arius  Nye,  Esq.,  was  accepted  in  March, 
1835,  and  Mr.  John  Crawford  seems  not  to  have  acted 
after  1834.  Of  the  other  seven  Dr.  John  Cotton  was  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  and  Rev.  L,  G.  Bingham  of  Mid- 
dlebury.  Mr.  Douglas  Putnam  had  finished  his  Junior 
year  at  Yale,  and  Dr.  Jonas  Moore  had  been  through  the 
first  three  years  at  Dartmouth.  Col.  John  Mills  and  Mr. 
Ansel m  T.  Nye — both  natives  of  Marietta,  as  also  Mr. 
Putnam — had  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  the  good  schools 
of  Marietta,  and  had  received  some  classical  instruction. 
Caleb  Emerson,  Esq.,  who  had  come  to  Marietta  in  early 
manhood,  had  an  insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge,  and 
taught  himself  Latin  so  that  he  was  able  to  teach  his 
children.  All  these  were  men  of  mark.  They  had  strong 
individual  characteristics,  but  they  labored  together  with 
great  harmony  to  establish  the  college  which  they 
loved.  They  were  all  earnest  Christian  men,  and  desired 
to  build  up  an  institution  where  high  intellectual  culture 
might  be  blended  with  earnest  sincere  piety.     They  rep- 


24 

resented  three  denominations  of  Christians,  but  as  trus- 
tees they  knew  no  lines.  In  1838  Rev.  Addison  Kings- 
bury, educated  at  Amherst  and  Andover,  was  elected  a 
member,  but  there  was  no  other  addition  to  the  Board  till 
1845. 

An  examination  of  the  record  shows  how  much  time 
these  gentlemen  devoted  to  the  college.  Were  I  to  speak 
of  their  work  as  it  seems  to  me  to  deserve  I  should  be 
deemed  extravagant.  Their  fidelity  to  their  great  trust, 
their  patience,  their  courage,  their  generosity,  their  sac- 
rifices, were  equalled  only  by  their  sagacity,  their  breadth 
of  view,  the  steadiness  with  which  they  resisted  all 
temptations  to  temporary  expedients.  They  acted  under 
the  consciousness  that  they  were  laying  the  foundations 
of  an  institution  that  was  to  continue  for  many  centuries, 
and  whose  future  prosperity  would  depend  largely  upon 
their  work.  There  was  nothing  narrow  or  petty  in  what 
they  did.  With  the  scantiest  means  they  laid  large 
plans,  exhibiting  a  faith  that  seems  almost  sublime. 

Of  these  early  Trustees,  only  two  survive  :  Mr.  Douglas 
Putnam,  one  of  the  founders,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Addison 
Kingsbury,  a  member  since  1838.  There  is  not  an 
Alumnus  that  does  not  rejoice  to  see  them  here  to  day. 

In  1845  an  amendment  to  the  charter  was  secured,  au- 
thorizing a  larger  number  of  Trustees.  Since  that  time 
thirty-nine  gentlemen  have  been  elected.  Seventeen  of 
them  have  been  clergymen,  and  twenty-two,  laymen. 
Eight  have  been  connected  with  the  college  as  students. 
Fourteen  of  the  thirty-nine  have  died,  and  eighteen  are 
now  members  of  the  Board.  Including  the  three  presi- 
dents, who  are  members  ex  officio  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, there  have  been  just  fifty  members  ;  a  half-century 
of  years  and  a  half-century  of  Trustees.  Eleven  of  the 
Trustees  have  been  the  descendants  of  the  men  who 
founded  Ohio  and  the  North  West  through  the  settle- 
ment made  by  the  Ohio  Company.  And  eight  others 
have  been  connected  with  the  early  settlers  by  marriage. 


25 

The  pleasant  duty  of  speaking  of  the  Trustees  who  have 
passed  away  has  been  fitly  performed  by  one  whose  name 
on  our  annual  catalogue  stands  next  to  the  two  to  whom 
I  have  just  referred. 

Pictures,  too,  of  the  members  of  the  original  faculty 
have  been  presented  to  us  by  one  who  knew  them  all  and 
sat  under  their  instruction.  And  those  later  professors 
whom  death  has  also  called  away  have  been  this  morning 
commemorated  in  loving  terms.  This  leaves  but  little 
for  me  to  say. 

As  we  have  already  been  told,  three  of  the  four  who 
began  the  work  of  instruction  in  the  college  classes  w^ere 
the  first  men  in  scholarship  in  their  respective  classes. 
And  their  subsequent  success  showed  the  wisdom  of  the 
Trustees  in  the  selection  they  made. 

Fifty  years  ago  it  was  a  rare  thing,  even  in  the  oldest 
institutions,  for  a  professor  to  go  abroad  to  improve 
himself  by  foreign  study.  But  Marietta  in  her  very 
infancy  gave  leave  of  absence  to  Professor  Smith  for  this 
purpose.  In  December,  1834,  the  Trustees  passed  a 
resolution  that  Mr.  Smith  have  leave  of  absence,  with  a 
a  continuance  of  salary,  from  and  after  the  first  of  July, 
1835,  to  the  first  of  November,  1836,  for  the  purposes  of 
study. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  arrangement  was  made  while 
the  institution  was  yet  a  collegiate  institute.  The  full 
college  charter  had  not  yet  been  obtained  ;  though  steps 
were  taken  at  that  meeting  for  securing  it.  Stronger 
proof  could  hardly  be  given  of  the  desire  and  purpose  of 
the  Trustees  of  this  young  institution  to  make  it  a  place 
where  young  men  could  have  the  highest  advantages  of 
liberal  culture.  That  the  purpose  to  have  well  qualified 
professors  is  still  operative  appears  from  the  fact  that  of 
the  six  who  have  been  elected  here  within  the  last  twelve 
years,  five  studied  abroad  after-graduating,  and  the  sixth 
had  devoted  four  years  to  post-graduate  study  in  Johns 
Hopkins  University.     Four  of  the  six  have  received  the 


26 

degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  on  examination,  from 
Harvard,  Yale,  Princeton,  and  Johns  Hopkins. 

There  have  been  in  all  twenty-one  professors,  including 
the  first  president,  not  including  the  first  principal  of  the 
academy.  These  were  graduated  as  follows  :  three  from 
Middlebury  College ;  three  from  Dartmouth  ;  two, 
Williams  ;  two,  Amherst ;  two,  Yale  ;  one.  Harvard  ;  one, 
Princeton  ;  one,  Iowa  ;  one,  Beloit ;  and  five,  Marietta. 
Besides  those  educated  at  our  own  college,  thirteen  were 
from  New  England  colleges,  two  from  Western  colleges 
established  on  the  model  of  the  New  England  colleges, 
and  one  from  the  old  College  of  New  Jersey.  Of  these, 
eight  have  deceased  :  Messrs.  Linsley,  Smith,  Allen  and 
Jewett  of  the  first  faculty,  and  Messrs.  E.  B.  Andrews, 
Walker,  Evans  and  Rosseter  of  the  later  professors.  Six 
are  now  connected  with  the  college,  and  a  seventh,  the 
venerable  Professor  Kendrick,  is  with  us  as  Professor 
Emeritus  ;  and  four  are  in  other  institutions,  viz  :  Rev. 
Dr.  Addison  Ballard,  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  at 
Lafayette  College  ;  Mr.  W.  B.  Graves,  Peabody  Professor 
of  the  Natural  Sciences  at  Andover  ;  Dr.  S.  S.  Orris, 
Professor  of  Greek  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  ;  and 
Dr.  Irving  J.  Manatt,  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Ne- 
braska.. Four  of  the  twenty  who  came  here  as  professors 
became  presidents,  here  and  elsewhere. 

It  has  been  stated  that  three  of  the  four  gentlemen 
constituting  the  first  college  faculty  had  taken  the  high- 
est honors  of  the  colleges  at  which  they  were  educated, 
viz.,  President  Joel  H.  Linsley,  Middlebury  College,  1811; 
Professor  Henry  Smith,  Middlebury,  1827;  Professor  D. 
Howe  Allen,  Dartmouth,  1829.  A  statement  of  like  char- 
acter may  be  made  of  those  composing  the  Faculty  of 
1855-56.  Of  the  five  who  were  associated  with  me  when 
I  entered  upon  my  duties  thirty  years  ago,  four  were  men 
who  had  stood  at  the  head  of  their  respective  classes: 
John  Kendrick,  Valedictorian  at  Dartmouth  in  1826, 
Addison  Ballard,  at  Williams  in  1842,  George   H.  Howi- 


27 

son,  at  Marietta  in  1852,  and  Martin  D.  Follett,  at 
Marietta  in  1853. 

The  statements  now  made  concern  the  completeness  of 
the  course  of  study  and  the  character  and  fitness  of  those 
constituting  the  Boards  of  Trust  and  Instruction.  In 
order  to  know  what  the  college  has  accomplished  in  its 
first  half-century  the  inquiry  must  reach  the  number  of 
students  who  have  here  been  educated. 

The  first  class  was  graduated  in  1838,  and  the  number 
ol  classes,  including  that  of  the  present  year,  is  forty- 
eight.  The  total  number  of  graduates  is  five  hundred 
and  sixty-six.  All  but  twenty-four  of  this  number  have 
received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  having  completed 
the  course  of  study  prescribed  in  the  best  colleges  of  the 
country.  Ten  have  pursued  the  course  in  which  German 
and  other  studies  are  substituted  for  the  Greek,  and  four- 
teen have  taken  the  Scientific  course  which  has  now  been 
given  up.  Five  hundred  and  sixty-six  graduates  in  forty- 
eight  classes  gives  a  yearly  average  of  a  small  fraction  less 
than  twelve.  To  some  this  annual  average  and  this  total 
for  forty-eight  years  will  seem  small.  Those  who  are  not 
familiar  with  higher  education  and  its  statistics,  especially 
in  the  West  and  South,  think  large  colleges  are  the  rule 
and  small  ones  the  exception.  They  read  in  the  papers 
of  the  number  of  students  in  attendance  at  various 
colleges  and  suppose  them  all  to  be  members  of  the  four 
regular  classes — candidates  for  the  first  degree  in  the 
arts  or  a  kindred  degree.  For  some  colleges  the  supposi- 
tion would  be  correct ;  for  many  it  would  be  incorrect. 
To  find  the  number  of  college  students  proper  you  must 
take  one-fifth  or  it  may  be  one-tenth  of  the  number  re- 
ported in  the  newspapers. 

The  number  of  colleges  in  the  United  States  graduating 
large  classes  year  by  year  is  very  small.  They  can  almost 
be  counted  on  one's  fingers.  According  to  the  last  Report 
of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  forty- 
six  per  cent  of  the  colleges   reporting  the  number  of 


28 

students  in  attendance  have  senior  classes,  in  the  classical 
course,  numbering  five  and  under.  And  sixty  two  and  a 
half  per  cent,  have  senior  classes  of  ten  and  under.  In 
all  the  colleges  reporting,  the  average  number  in  the 
senior  class  (classical)  is  eleven.  Deduct  ten  of  the 
largest  colleges  and  the  average  senior  class  of  the  re- 
mainder is  only  eight ;  deduct  twenty  colleges  and  the 
others  average  senior  classes  of  seven. 

The  number  of  graduates  in  a  given  period  is  a  much 
better  criterion  of  the  work  accomplished  by  an  institution 
than  the  total  number  in  attendance.  A  college  is  estab- 
lished to  secure  a  specific  result.  Students  resort  to  it  to 
receive  a  certain  amount  of  culture  and  discipline  which 
is  tested  by  examinations  and  indicated  by  the  testimonial 
of  the  college.  When  the  in(]uiry,  then,  concerns  the 
amount  of  work  done  by  an  institution  in  twenty-five,  or 
fifty,  or  a  hundred  years,  it  is  equivalent  to  asking  wliat 
has  been  its  contribution  to  the  number  of  liberally 
educated  men.  The  question  is  not  as  to  the  number  on 
the  catalogue  ;  not  how  many  have  been  in  attendance  a 
few  months,  or  a  year,  or  two  years,  but  as  to  the  number 
who  have  completed  to  the  satisfaction  of  competent 
judges  the  work  necessary  for  a  degree.  To  say  of  a 
college  that  it  has  given  instruction  to  so  many  hundreds, 
in  a  given  number  of  years,  or  thousands  it  may  be,  while 
it  has  graduated  but  a  small  fraction  of  those  w^ho  have 
been  enrolled  in  its  regular  classes,  is  not  quite  the 
language  of  commendation.  The  inquiry  at  once  sug- 
gests itself,  what  has  become  of  the  large  fraction  who 
did  not  complete  the  course  ? 

What  proportion  of  the  students  that  are  matriculated 
in  the  colleges  of  the  country  from  year  to  year  remain 
till  their  graduation,  there  is  no  means  of  knowing  from 
published  documents.  The  probability  is  that  the  num- 
ber of  graduates,  taking  all  the  colleges,  is  much  less  than 
half  the  number  that  enter.  The  only  college,  so  far  as 
I  know,  whose  general  catalogue  contains  the  names  of 


29 


all  the  members  of  the  several  classes,  as  well  as  the 
graduates,  is  Williams.  In  that  institution  for  the  sixty- 
years,  from  1820  to  1880,  a  little  less  than  sixty-four  per 
cent  of  the  matriculates  have  finished  the  course.  The 
statistics  of  Marietta  give  a  ratio  approxiniately  the  same  ; 
th^  graduates  in  her  forty-eight  classes  being  a  little 
more  than  sixty-three  per  cent  of  the  number  matriculated. 

As  the  course  of  study  occupies  four  years,  and  the 
catalogue  gives  the  members  of  the  four  classes,  if  a  class 
during  its  course  of  four  years  suffered  no  diminution 
the  number  of  graduates  -  for  a  series  of  years  would 
average  one-fourth  of  the  number  on  the  catalogue  for 
the  same  time.  But  losses  will  occur  through  death, 
sickness,  poverty,  etc.,  and  if  the  graduates  average  one- 
fifth  of  the  names  on  the  catalogue  the  record  is  a  good 
one.  Taking  the  forty-eight  catalogues  of  Marietta  the 
number  of  graduates  is  a  little  more  than  one-fifth  the 
number  enrolled  on  the  catalogues.  This  permanence  of 
students  in  a  college  may  be  expressed  also  by  comparing 
the  number  of  seniors  with  the  number  of  freshmen  for 
a  series  of  years.  For  our  whole  history  the  seniors  have 
been  to  the  freshmen  as  seventy  to  one  hundred.  In 
some  instances  a  class  has  numbered  more  at  the  close  of 
the  senior  year  than  at  the  beginning  of  the  freshman. 

Including  that  of  the  present  year  the  number  of 
classes  graduated,  as  already  stated,  is  forty-eight,  and 
the  total  number  of  graduates  is  five  hundred  and  sixty- 
six,  giving  an  annual  average  of  twelve,  nearly.  Har- 
vard College  in  its  first  forty-eight  classes  numbered  three 
hundred  and  one  graduates  ;  and  its  annual  average  did 
not  reach  the  number  ten  till  it  had  sent  out  eighty-two 
classes  ;  and  to  reach  an  average  of  twelve  required 
eighty-eight  years.  Cornell  University  gives  the  first 
degree  in  the  arts  to  six  students  the  present  year,  and 
Washington  and  Lee  University  conferred  but  a  single 
college  degree  the  last  year. 

Our  first  class  of  graduates  numbered  four,  and  there 


30 

has  been  one  other  class  of  four.  There  have  been  three 
classes  of  twenty-two  each.  There  have  been  fluctuations 
here  as  elsewhere.  Most  colleges  have  had  classes  of 
three,  two,  one.  Four  is  our  smallest  class.  Many  insti- 
tutions have  occasional  blanks  in  their  early  history.  The 
forty-seventh  class  at  Harvard  numbered  eleven  ;  the 
next  year  was  a  blank,  there  being  no  graduates.  Mari- 
etta has  been  fortunate  in  escaping  the  loss  of  an  entire 
class.  A  small  class  one  j^ear  does  not  imply  a  succession 
of  small  classes.  In  1868  the  number  ol  graduates  was 
a  small  one,  as  our  record  shows.  But  in  the  ten  years 
following  there  were  more  graduates  than  in  any  other 
ten  years  in  our  history.  And  three  years  after  the 
graduation  of  that  small  class  there  was  a  larger  number 
admitted  than  in  any  other  year. 

While,  thus,  looking  at  the  succession  of  individual 
years,  there  have  been  fluctuations  in  attendance  and  in 
the  number  of  graduates,  there  has  been  steady  progress 
if  we  regard  the  decades  of  years.  In  the  first  nine 
years,  covering  the  number  of  classes  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  first  president,  the  number  of  graduates  was 
eighty-five.  In  the  nine  years  of  the  second  administra- 
tion the  number  was  ninety-three.  In  the  first  ten  years 
of  the  third  administration  there  were  one  hundred  and 
nine  graduates  ;  in  the  second  decade,  one  hundred  an-d 
twenty-eight ;  and  in  the  third,  one  hundred  and  fifty-one. 
Thus  each  period  shows  an  advance  over  the  one  preceding 
it,  the  gain  of  the  fifth  over  the  fourth,  however,  being 
much  the  largest  of  all.  The  last  decade  shows  also  a 
higher  degree  of  permanence  than  either  of  the  preceding 
decades.  The  annual  average  of  graduates  for  the  whole 
period  being  a  fraction  over  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
number  on  *the  catalogue,  the  average  for  the  last  ten 
years  is  twenty-three  per  cent. 

It  is  not  strange  that  the  friends  of  an  institution  should 
desire  for  it  large  classes.  This  is  an  indication  of  pros- 
perity obvious  enough  to  the  most  simple.     But,  as  a  test 


31 

of  excellence,  it  is  by  no  means  trustworthy.  The  desire 
for  large  numbers  is  a  temptation  to  make  the  terms  of 
admission  too  easy  ;  to  adapt  the  requirements  to  the 
attainments  or  lack  of  attainments  of  the  candidate.  The 
hospitality  so  characteristic  of  western  homes  is  worthy 
of  all  commendation,  but  the  hospitality  of  a  college 
which  is  open  to  all  comers,  regardless  of  their  fitness, 
does  not  commend  itself.  Unfortunately  the  ambition  to 
secure  students  is  not  limited  to  the  west  or  to  institutions 
still  young.  Some  of  the  oldest  and  richest  colleges  in 
the  country  seem  to  be  as  eager  in  the  race  for  numerical 
supremacy  as  rival  cities  in  the  strife  for  growth  in  popu- 
lation. Western  colleges  that  aim  to  do  genuine  and 
thorough  work  are  thus  exposed  to  a  double  embarrass- 
ment ;  obliged,  on  the  one  hand,  to  meet  the  strong  de- 
sire for  numbers  manifested  by  colleges  and  universities 
that  think  more  of  the  name  than  the  reality,  and  on  the 
other  to  encounter  the  strenuous  efforts  for  patronage  put 
forth  by  institutions  of  long  standing  and  high  repute 
that  might  better  rely  upon  the  prestige  which  comes 
from  large  endowments  and  historic  fame. 

If  we  look  at  the  highest  educational  good  of  the  student, 
the  small  college,  other  things  being  equal,  has  indeed 
the  advantage.  The  method  of  instruction  at  the  United 
States  Military  Academy,  where  the  number  in  the  recita- 
tion room  is  always  very  small,  is  unquestionably  the  best 
for  the  pupil.  And  one  of  the  chief  arguments  for  the 
elective  system  is  that  classes  would  be  divided  into  sec- 
tions and  thus  the  instructors  would  be  enabled  to  do 
their  work  more  efficiently.  Taking  the  whole  period  of 
our  history  the  average  number  in  the  class  room  has 
been  about  fifteen.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  more 
improvement  has  been  made,  a  better  education  secured, 
than  if  the  number  had  been  twice  as  great.  With  thirty 
in  a  class  two  sections  would  be  necessary  and  that  would 
require  an  increase  of  instructors.  That  hitherto  the 
number  of 'teachers  in  our  larger  colleges  has  not  kept 


32 

pace  with  the  increase  in  the  number  of  students  cannot 
be  questioned,  and  in  this  respect  therefore  the  character 
of  their  work  has  not  improved.  The  evil  of  large  num- 
bers in  a  recitation  room  is  obvious  enough  when  those 
reciting  together  are  of  the  same  grade  ;  it  becomes  much 
more  serious  when  a  portion  of  the  students  are  two  or 
three  years  behind  the  others  in  discipline  and  attain- 
ment. If  the  friends  of  Marietta  are  desirous  that  the 
classes  should  be  larger,  they  must  remember  that  this 
renders  imperative  a  corresponding  increase  of  endow- 
ment, if  the  same  standard  of  excellence  be  maintained. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  many  of  the  successful  men 
of  the  counti"}^  have  come  from  small  colleges  or  from 
small  classes.  Of  the  nine  gentlemen  composing  the 
present  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  six  were 
members  of  small  classes  and  three  of  large  classes.  And 
one  of  these  three  spent  the  first  three  years  of  his  course 
in  a  small  college.  In  the  first  class  of  a  prominent 
college  in  Illinois  there  were  two  graduates  ;  one  of  them 
afterwards  became  the  governor  of  that  state.  The  late 
Judge  Folger,  Chief  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in 
the  State  of  New  York  and  afterwards  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  under  President  Arthur,  was  the  only  graduate 
of  his  class. 

The  impression  is  prevalent  that  students  often  enter 
college  too  young ;  that  maturity  of  years  is  requisite 
in  order  to  profit  by  the  course  of  study,  and  there- 
fore, the  older  students  derive  more  advantage  than 
the  younger.  Our  experience  of  fifty  years  does  not 
confirm  this.  It  shows,  on  the  contrary,  that  when 
a  lad  is  well  prepared  for  entrance  he  is  old  enough 
to  do  the  work  required.  The  average  age  of  our  alumni 
at  graduation  is  twenty-two  years  and  seven-tenths.  The 
average  age  of  those  who  have  held  the  highest  rank  in 
their  respective  classes  is  twenty-two  and  four-tenths.  A 
very  considerable  number  of  these  fell  much  below  the 
average  age.     The  influence  of  a  well-arranged  course  of 


33 

study  makes  amends  for  the  lack  of  maturity.  The  lad 
of  sixteen  or  seventeen  grows  more,  intellectually,  in  the 
four  years  of  the  course  than  the  man  of  twenty-four  or 
twenty-five.  So  far  as  our  experience  goes,  early  system- 
atic study  in  a  good  classical  course  is  the  best  possible 
preparation  for  subsequent  intellectual  growth. 

The  members  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
have  been  referred  to  as  showing  that  eminent  men  often 
come  from  small  colleges  and  small  classes.  They  show  al- 
so the  advantage  of  early  education.  The  nine  Justices 
are  all  graduates,  and  most  of  them  finished  their  collegiate 
studies  at  an  early  age.  The  ages  of  eight  of  them  at 
graduation  are  known:  One  was  twenty-three  years,  one 
was  twenty-one,  two  were  twenty,  three  were  seventeen, 
and  one  was  sixteen.  The  average  age  of  the  eight  was 
nineteen  years.  Of  the  senior  editors  of  five  promi- 
nent religious  newspapers  in  New  York  and  Bos- 
ton— the  Congregationalist,  Christian  Union,  Evangelist, 
Independent,  and  Observer — the  oldest  at  graduation  was 
twenty-one  and  the  youngest  was  sixteen  and  one-third, 
the  average  being  eighteen  years  and  one-sixth.  The  le- 
gitimate inference  from  these  facts,  and  many  others 
might  be  cited,  is  that  a  course  of  liberal  study  may 
be  commenced  at  an  early  age.  There  is  no  need  to 
keep  back  a  student  from  college  till  he  becomes  a  ma- 
ture man  in  years. 

It  is  often  said  that  some  students  go  to  college  and 
others  are  sent;  the  implication  being  that  the  latter  class 
reap  little  benefit.  All  honor  to  those  who  go  of  them- 
selves ;  who  work  their  way  if  need  be  ;  who  overcome 
great  obstacles  to  secure  the  much  cherished  education. 
No  word  should  be  spoken  to  discourage  them,  but  they 
should  be  encouraged  in  every  way.  The  man  who  is 
impelled  by  a  burning  thirst  for  knowledge  is  never  too 
old  to  begin  his  college  studies.  But  so  far  as  the  remark 
quoted  tends  to  dissuade  parents  from  sending  their  sons 
to  college  its  influence  is   harmful.     In   the  benefit  re- 


34 

ceived  there  is  no  such  difference  between  those  who  go 
and  those*  who  are  sent.  The  student  who  completes  his 
course  at  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  must  have  begun  his 
preparatory  studies  by  fourteen  or  fifteen,  and  must  have 
been  supported  by  his  parents  ;  that  is,  he  has  been  sent 
to  college.  It  is  wisdom  for  the  parent  to  send  his  sons 
and  not  wait  for  them  to  go  of  themselves.  In  after 
years  not  one  son  in  a  thousand  will  fail  to  thank  his 
parents  that  he  was  thus  sent,  in  this  way  saving  precious 
time  and  making  sure  the  liberal  education  which  other- 
wise might  never  have  been  gained. 

The  graduates  of  Marietta  are  distributed  among  the 
various  professions  and  occupations  as  follows  :  thirty- 
four  per  cent  are  clergymen  ;  twenty-eight  per  cent  bus- 
iness men  ;  seventeen  per  cent  lawyers  ;  eight  per  cent 
physicians  ;  eight  per  cent  professors  and  other  teachers; 
five  per  cent  all  others.  The  proportion  of  business  men 
is  large,  but  this  is  no  cause  of  regret.  It  is  rare  now  to 
find  an  intelligent  man  holding  the  opinion  that  the  cost 
in  time  and  money  of  a  liberal  education  is  thrown  away 
if  the  graduate  does  not  enter  one  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions. The  great  business  enterprises  of  our  times  are 
demanding  men  of  the  best  intellectual  training  as  well 
as  of  high  natural  capacity. 

Eighty-six  of  our  alumni  are  the  sons  of  clergymen. 
In  a  large  number  of  cases  there  have  been  two  or  more 
graduates  from  the  same  family.  One  hundred  and  six- 
ty-eight of  the  five  hundred  and  sixty-six  alumni  are  in 
groups  of  two,  three,  and  four  brothers  in  the  same 
household.  Three  families  have  sent  four  sons  each, 
fourteen  have  sent  three,  and  fifty -seven  have  sent  two. 
Twenty-eight  have  received  degrees  whose  fathers  were 
students  before  them.  It  may  also  be  added  that  one 
hundred  and  twenty  of  the  graduates  are  the  descendants 
of  the  early  settlers,  representing  sixty  of  tlie  pioneers. 

There  is  not  time  to  give  any  financial  history  of  the 
college.     The  enterprise  was  entered  on  in  the  firm  be- 


35 

lief  that  such  an  institution  was  needed,  and  the  move- 
ment was  made  by  men  who  were  willing  to  show  their 
faith  by  their  works.  The  first  effort  to  raise  funds  was 
made  here  in  March,  1833.  Something  more  than  $8,000 
was  raised,  of  which  the  seven  Trustees  gave  about  half. 
The  Trustees  assessed  each  other.  Messrs.  Mills,  Moore, 
and  Bingham  gave  $1,000  each.  Remembering  the  re- 
peated gifts  of  the  Trustee  who  alone  is  left  of  that 
group  of  seven  you  wonder  that  he  was  assessed  but 
$200.  But  he  was  the  youngest  of  the  seven,  and  the 
others  deemed  that  sum  to  he  his  full  proportion.  Would 
you  know  what  is  the  total  of  his  benefactions  to  Marietta 
College,  multiply  that  first  gift  by  four  hundred.  Many 
citizens  of  Marietta  and  vicinity  have  given  often  and 
largely  according  to  their  ability,  and  the  aggregate 
amount  contributed  by  those  who  have  lived  here,  in- 
cluding bequests,  probably  exceeds  $280,000. 

The  first  efi'orts  at  the  East  were  made  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Bingham,  one  of  the  Trustees,  and  by  Professors  Allen 
and  Jewett.  Later  Rev.  N.  W.  Fisher,  of  Burlington, 
Ohio,  and  Charles  Goddard,  Esq.,  of  Richmond,  Virginia, 
engaged  in  this  service.  While  thus  employed  Mr. 
Goddard  was  elected  to  a  professorship,  which  the  state  of 
his  health  compelled  him  to  decline.  Some  years  after- 
ward Rev.  J.  R.  Barnes  and  Rev.  Joseph  Chester  rendered 
service  as  agents,  and  still  later  Rev.  Francis  Bartlett. 
The  time  of  President  Linsley  was  largely  occupied  in 
outside  work  for  the  first  three  years  after  his  election  in 
1835,  and  at  intervals  afterwards.  The  College  Society, 
formed  in  1843,  rendered  opportune  aid  for  a  number  of 
years.  Among  the  largest  early  donors  at  the  East  were 
Samuel  Train,  Esq.,  of  Medford,  Massachusetts,  and  Hon. 
Thomas  W.  Williams,  of  New  London,  Connecticut. 

Very  little  expenditure  for  agency  work  has  been 
made  during  the  last  thirty  years.  What  has  been  done 
in  a  financial  way  has  been  chiefly  by  the  President  in 
vacation  and  by  correspondence.    There  has  been  no  ab- 


36 

sence  in  term  time  to  interfere  with  his  regular  work  of 
instruction.  The  number  of  persons  approached  has  been 
small,  but  in  most  cases  those  who  have  given  have  re- 
peated their  gifts.  A  gentleman  in  Massachusetts  some 
years  ago  gave  a  hundred  dollars.  A  year  later  he  gave 
the  same  sum.  The  third  year  unsolicited  he  sent  by 
mail  his  check  for  a  like  amount,  and  this  was  continued 
for  about  ten  years.  In  1863  a  personal  friend  in  New 
York  sent  in  response  to  a  letter  $200.  The  next  year, 
without  application,  he  repeated  the  gift.  The  third  he  did 
the  same,  and  thus  for  six  years.  Then  for  two  years  it  was 
$300  a  year  ;  then  $1000  a  year  for  two  years.  A  few 
months  later  he  died.  It  is  pleasant  to  have  such  friends. 

In  seeking  to  interest  men  in  the  college  I  could  never 
forget  the  gifts  of  the  Trustees.  The  remembrance  of 
their  great  generosity  made  me  unwilling  to  approach 
men  simply  because  of  their  pecuniary  ability.  I  felt 
that  it  was  not  every  one  who  was  worthy  to  be  enrolled 
among  the  noble  men  by  whose|liberality  Marietta  College 
had  been  largely  sustained.  The  same  feeling  kept  me 
from  urging  the  cause.  It  was  an  object  worthy  of  a 
cheerful  giver  and  I  could  not  press  it.  A  good  lady 
whose  husband  I  had  seen  told  me  she  thought  I  was  a 
poor  solicitor;  that  most  men  who  came  to  him  presented 
their  cause  as  if  it  were  a  matter  of  life  and  death  ;  she 
should  not  expect  me  to  succeed  at  all.  A  few  weeks 
after  this  her  husband  wrote  me  pledging  $5000. 

At  our  quarter-century  celebration  only  one  bequest 
was  reported — that  of  Mrs.  Mary  Keyes,  of  Columbus, 
formerly  of  McConnelsville,  of  $5,000.  Soon  after  an- 
other of  the  same  amount  was  made  by  Mr.  D.  T.  Wood- 
bury, also  of  Columbus.  Within  a  few  years,  and  prior  to 
the  present  year,  three  bequests  have  been  made,  amount- 
ing to  about  $100,000.  Mr.  Truman  Hillyer,  of  Colum- 
bus, has  given  in  real  estate  and  money  something  over 
$30,000,  receiving  an  annuity  during  his  life.  Col.  W.  R. 
Putnam   made  the  college   his  residuary    legatee,  from 


37 

whose  estate  it  is  estimated  $35,000  will  be  realized.  Both 
of  these  gentlemen  expressed  great  satisfaction  in  the 
disposition  they  had  made  of  their  property.  Col.  Put- 
nam's will  was  made  many  years  before  his  decease,  and 
he  seemed  to  regard  his  property  as  sacred  to  the  purpose 
to  which  he  had  devoted  it ;  too  sacred  even  for  himself 
to  use  save  for  the  support  of  himself  and  family.  ^The 
third  bequest  was  by  Dr.  Henry  Smith,  the  second  Presi- 
dent  of  the  college.  After  bequeathing  to  the  college  his 
library,  the  will  reads  :  "I  give  to  the  college  fourteen  oil 
paintings,  purchased  in  Rotne  about  the  year  1856,  in 
memory  of  my  son,  Albert  Linnekogel  Smith,  who  re- 
quested before  his  death  that  these  paintings  might  be 
given  to  Marietta  College  as  the  nucleus  of  an  Art  Gal- 
lery." This  son  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  nearly 
twenty  years  before  the  father  ;  yet  the  request  was  re- 
membered and  his  last  wishes  carried  out.  After  making 
provision  for  his  two  sons  on  the  decease  of  his  wife, 
who  was  to  have  the  use  of  everything  during  her  life, 
he  made  the  college  his  residuary  legatee  ;  expressing 
the  hope  that  funds  might  be  found  sufficient  to  endow  a 
professorship.  In  that  case  he  wished  it  to  be  named  the 
Henderson  Professorship  in  memory  of  his  mother, 
Phebe  Henderson  Linsley.  Dr.  Smith's  mother  had 
married  for  her  second  husband  Dr.  Joel  H.  Linsley, 
who  became  the  first  President  of  Marietta  College.  The 
professorship  will  thus  bear  the  name  of  the  wife  of  the 
first  President  of  the  college  and  the  mother  of  the  sec- 
ond— a  beautiful  memorial  from  a  son  to  his  mother. 

Since  the  present  year  began  another  bequest  has  been 
left  to  the  college  by  Mr.  Cornelius  B.  Erwin,  of  New 
Britain,  Connecticut.  He  left  $15,000  to  endow  ten 
scholarships,  and  $15,000  for  the  general  purposes  of  the 
college.  This  institution  is  also  one  of  five  residuary  leg- 
atees. It  is  estimated  by  those  acquainted  with  the  value 
of  the  estate  that  this  residuary  portion  will  much  exceed 
the  direct  bequest.     Mr.  Erwin  began  to  give  to  Marietta 


38 

many  years  ago,  his  first  gifts  being  to  aid  young  men  in 
the  payment  of  tuition.  Very  soon  he  signified  his  pur- 
pose to  provide  in  his  will  for  five  scholarships  of  $1,000 
each.  The  idea  of  helping  young  men  remained  with 
him,  though  he  increased  the  sum  and  made  the  basis 
more  liberal  to  the  college. 

It^houldbe  noticed  that  this  bequest  of  Mr.  Erwin's, 
which  promises  to  be  much  the  largest  the  college  has  re- 
ceived, comes  from  one  whose  early  advantages  were  very 
limited,  while  he  greatly  desired  an  education.  He  de- 
termined to  use  a  portion  of  that  wealth  which  God  had 
given  him,  to  help  joung  men  to  obtain  that  which  he 
wanted  but  could  not  secure — a  liberal  education. 

Besides  these  large  bequests  others  are  known  to  exist 
in  the  wills  of  living  persons;  and  such  additions  to  the 
funds  of  the  college  may  be  confidently  expected  from 
the  alumni  and  others.  The  financial  outlook  is  full  of 
encouragement.  The  large  wealth  of  the  old  colleges 
comes  from  recent  gifts.  Yale  College  was  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  old  before  its  endowment  for  general  pur- 
poses had  reached  $140,000,  In  1864  the  funds  of  Williams 
College  for  all  purposes  amounted  to  but  $90,000.  Thirty 
years  ago  Princeton  was  virtually  without  endowment. 
In  1862  the  estimated  value  of  our  whole  property  was 
$77,000.  Aside  from  the  residual  bequest  of  Mr.  Erwin 
the  net  resources  of  Marietta  are  now^  nearly  five  times 
that  amount.  Thus  in  financial  matters  as  in  other  things 
the  fifth  decade  of  the  college  has  been  the  most  prosper- 
ous in  its  history. 

The  coincidence  in  time  between  the  completion  of 
fifty  years  of  the  life  of  the  college  and  the  close  of  my 
administration,  makes  a  few  personal  words  not  inappro- 
priate. Taking  my  first  degree  at  Williams  College  in 
1837  I  was  appointed  a  year  later  tutor  in  Mathematics 
at  Marietta,  with  the  understanding  that  the  professor- 
ship in  that  department,  then  vacant,  would  be  given  to 


39 

me  if  mutual  acquaintance  should  make  it  advisable. 
Detained  a  while  by  my  engagement  at  the  East  I  could 
not  reach  Marietta  till  the  winter.  Through  the  kind 
consideration  of  the  Trustees  my  probation  was  brief, 
the  election  to  the  professorship  being  made  within  three 
months  after  my  coming  here,  my  duties  to  begin  with 
the  next  college  year.  In  1850,  on  the  resignation  of 
Colonel  Mills,  who  had  given  gratuitous  service  as 
treasurer  for  seventeen  years,  I  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him.  In  January,  1855,  on  the  resignation  of  President 
Smith,  the  Trustees  elected  "me  to  the  presidency.  For 
forty-seven  years,  therefore,  I  have  been  in  the  service  of 
this  college  :  one  year  as  tutor,  sixteen  as  professor,  and 
thirty  as  president.  A  life  less  eventful  could  hardly  be 
found.  Serving  under  Trustees  for  whom  I  had  the 
highest  respect  and  whose  plans  it  was  my  earnest 
desire  to  carry  out,  and  associated  in  instruction  with 
men  of  ability  and  fidelitv  with  whom  it  has  been  a  joy 
to  work,  these  forty-seven  years  have  passed  quietly  and 
pleasantly,  almost  imperceptibly. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  know  personally  every 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trust,  every  member  of  the 
Board  of  Instruction,  and  every  Alumnus  of  the  college. 
Of  the  566  graduates  all  but  four — the  first  class — have 
been  graduated  since  my  connection  with  the  institution 
began,  and  nearly  all  have  come  under  my  instruction. 
As  professor  or  president  I  have  served  under  every 
Trustee,  and,  with  a  single  exception,  with  every  profes- 
sor. It  was  the  resignation  of  Professor  Jewett  in  the 
summer  of  1838  that  was  the  occasion  of  my  coming. 
When  I  entered  on  the  presidency  in  1855  there  was  no 
one  here  of  the  original  Faculty;  but  all  were  then  living. 
To-day  they  are  gone,  not  only  from  us  but  from  the 
world  which  they  did  so  much  to  bless.  Of  the  eight 
Trustees  when  I  came  in  1838  two  only  survive — Mr. 
Douglas  Pntnam  and  Rev.  Dr.  Addison  Kingsbury.  Of 
the   eighteen  Trustees  in  1855  when  my  administration 


40 

began  three  only  are  left — the  two  just  named  and  Mr. 
William  P.  Cutler.  Of  the  twenty  members  of  the  present 
Board  of  Trust,  all  but  five  have  been  elected  since  1863; 
or  after  I  had  completed  a  quarter-century  of  college 
work.  Of  the  original  Faculty,  as  has  been  said,  none  re- 
main; but  the  venerable  Professor  Kendrick,  who  came 
in  1840  and  after  thirty-three  years  of  active  service  was 
made  Professor  Emeritus  in  1873,  is  still  spared  to  us.  Of 
the  other  professors  all  have  come  since  1869.  Our 
senior  professor  entered  the  college  when  I  became  Presi- 
dent. May  his  health  soon  be  fully  restored,  and  may 
he  continue  for  many  years  to-  be  the  senior  professor 
of  the  Faculty  of  this  college. 

In  looking  over  the  years  spent  here  I  see  great  occa- 
sion for  thankfulness.  A  better  Board  of  Trustees,  and 
abler  and.  more  congenial  associates  could  hardly  be 
desired.  The  work  of  instruction  has  always  been  a  pleas- 
ant one  to  me,  and  my  efforts  have  received  from  these 
hundreds  of  young  men  all  they  deserved,  and  more. 
Many  shortcomings  there  have  been  in  teaching  and  in 
administration ;  none  can  know  them  better  than  I  do. 
But  a  sincere  desire  to  secure  for  every  student  the  best 
possible  culture,  an  identification  of  myself  with  the  in- 
terests of  the  institution,  and  a  readiness  to  do  whatever 
lay  in  my  power  to  increase  its  true  efficiency  and  make 
it  in  the  best  sense  a  Christian  college — these,  if  I  know 
myself,  have  ever  actuated  me.  Now  that  my  relation  to 
the  college  is  about  to  be  changed,  my  interest  in  its  suc- 
cess will  not,  I  trust,  grow  less.  My  prayer  is  that  in  all 
respects  it  may  prosper;  that  it  may  accomplish  all  that 
its  noble  and  generous  founders  ever  anticipated  for  it. 
And  so  I  commend  it  to  the  Trustees,  to  the  Faculty,  to 
the  Alumni,  to  all  the  friends  of  Christian  learning.  I 
commend  it  to  Him  whose  servants  and  stewards  we  all 
are,  and  without  whose  blessing  there  can  be  no  true 
success. 


ADDRESS  MEMORIAL  OF  DECEASED  TRUSTEES. 

BY  HON.  W.  P.  CUTLER. 


To  organize  and  build  up  Commonwealths  based  upon 
justice  and  ^'personal  rights''  is  a  grand  and  honorable 
enterprise.  Yet  they  have  been  thus  organized  and  built. 
They  have  not  grown  up  like  the  vegetable  or  animal  as 
a  product  of  inherent  forces — impelled  by  blind  energies 
and  controlled  by  fortuitous  surroundings.  They  are 
rather  the  product  of  intelligent  designs  executed  by 
responsible  agents,  capable  of  adopting  and  applying 
organic  principles  that  will  produce  certain  results. 
Necessarily  then  they  have  had  founders  and  builders. 

True  they  have  made  progress  and  have  gone  backward, 
have  risen  and  fallen,  but  progress  has  been  the  result  of 
distinctive  ideas  or  principles  which  may  be  called  founda- 
tionSy  and  of  the  persistent  and  successful  application  of 
those  organic  ideas  throughout  the  national  life.'  History 
affords  great  diversity  in  the  character  of  the  foundations 
as  well  as  in  that  of  the  builders.  As  a  general  proposi- 
tion, adherence  to  organic  ideas  has  been  the  measure  of 
national  life. 

The  distinctive  idea  of  the  Jewish  Nation  was  theocracy, 
not  only  the  abstract  idea  of  a  divine  existence  but  of  the 
rightful  authority  of  God  over  the  race  as  lawgiver  and 
governor.  While  the  builders  adhered  to  this  idea  Israel 
was  a  power  in  the  earth.  Its  abandonment  was  their 
ruin.  Rome's  initial  idea  was  conquest.  Her  builders 
wrought  it  out  in  the  subjugation  of  the  world  to  her 


42 

sway.  But  the  idea  spent  its  own  force  in  its  successful 
application.  The  virtue  needed  to  preserve,  unite,  and 
harmonize  the  conquests,  and  restrain  lust  and  ambition 
was  wanting.     The  mighty  fabric  crumbled  into  ruins. 

But  our  own  country  and  times  are  not  wanting  in 
illustrations.  The  value  and  effect  of  distinctive  ideas 
and  principles  which  enter  into  and  make  up  the  founda- 
tions of  civil  government  and  society  may  be  traced  in 
the  early  occapation  and  subsequent  growth  of  the 
Eastern  states  or  commonwealths  of  our  common 
country.  It  is  true  that  persecution  was  a  force  that 
drove  the  pioneers  to  this  continent,  but  persecution  was 
not  a  distinct  or  recognized  principle  which  they  sought 
to  incorporate  into  their  political  or  social  foundations. 
Without  attempting  either  an  enumeration  or  a  discussion 
of  all  their  organic  ideas,  it  is  sufficient  for  ilie  present 
purpose  and  occasion  to  notice  the  fact  that  knowledge  in 
all  its  departments  and  applications  was  with  them  a 
paramount  and  prevailing  idea.  Early  and  constant 
attention  was  given  to  this  subject  in  providing  for 
elementary  instruction  in  common  schools,  and  in  organ- 
izing higher  institutions  of  learning.  The  builders  of 
that  day  very  soon  began  to  build  up  the  young  common- 
wealth on  knowledge  as  a  foundation.  Harvard  and 
Yale  had  slender  initial  funds — called  foundations — but 
those  and  similar  institutions  were  themselves  the  founda- 
tion of  a  nation. 

But  there  was  a  collateral  idea  that  received  cotempor- 
aneous  attention  and  application.  This  was  the  ethics, 
the  morals,  the  principles  of  the  Bible  as  essential  to  the 
support  of  civil  government.  If  they  laid  foundations  in 
knowledge,  they  cemented  them  with  religion.  There 
was  no  attempt  to  separate  these  elements  of  a  nation's 
life  and  growth.  They  went  into  the  corner  stones  and 
were  the  rock  on  which  the  nation  began  to  rise.  The 
founders  and  builders,  then,  of  Christian  colleges  may  be 
regarded  as  the  conservators  of  the  organic  ideas  that 


43 

entered  into  the  civil  as  well  as  the  social  organization 
that  prevailed  in  the  earlier  commonwealths  of  our 
country,  especially  in  those  known  as  the  New  England 
States. 

It  serves  our  present  purpose  and  is  appropriate  to  this 
occasion  to  trace  the  rise  and  progress  of  this  distinctive 
theory  that  religion  and  knowledge  are  essential  to  good 
government.  It  will  be  seen  that  Marietta  College  has 
been  founded  and  built  up  upon  that  theory.  The  men 
whose  memories  we  wish  to  recall  to  day  were  faithful  to 
traditions  and  principles  that  were  cherished  in  the 
fatherland,  and  brought  here  by  the  pioneer  settlers. 

In  estimating  the  value  of  these  principles  it  is  well  to 
bear  in  mind  that  the  governments  of  Christendom  had 
previously  sought  to  subsidize  the  power  of  the  church 
to  their  support,  but  in  this  attempt,  compulsion,  force  in 
its  severest  aspects,  was  the  constant  resort.  Hence  the 
moral  force  of  the  church  was  wasted.  It  became  an 
ecclesiastical  power — often  a  despotism. 

The  Puritan  movement  was  a  new  departure  in  the 
direction  of  entire  liberty  of  conscience,  freedom  of 
worship,  and  a  full  assertion  of  human  rights.  It  was 
stimulated  by  persecution  and  oppression,  but  a  constant, 
persistent,  intelligent  assertion  of  "rights''  prevailed 
through  their  history  from  the  landing  in  1620  to  the 
treaty  of  peace  in  1783.  This  new  departure  was  both 
defensive  and  aggressive.  It  severed  the  bonds  of 
ecclesiastical  power  over  the  conscience,  discarded  the 
divine  right  of  kings,  and  asserted  the  supreme  right  of 
the  governed  over  all  civil  institutions.  In  those  days 
"the  rights  of  man  "  was  a  most  comprehensive  phrase. 
It  covered  the  whole  ground  of  controversy  in  regard  to 
religious  liberty  and  politics.  It  covered  not  only  colonial 
right,  not  only  the  political  checks  and  balances  of  or- 
ganized government,  but  it  dealt  largely,  mainly,  with 
^personal  rights.  The  individual  man  was  for  the  first  time 
brought  fully  and  fairly  to  the  front.     As  a  voter  he  be- 


44 

came  a  sovereign,  and  yet  remains  a  subject.  The  problem 
was  to  fit  this  individual  man  for  the  successful  exercise 
of  those  responsibilities.  He  must  have  wisdom  to  make 
laws,  and  he  must  have  self  control  to  obey  laws.  In  the 
estimation  of  the  men  of  that  day  it  required  two  words 
to  solve  that  problem — religion  and  knowledge.  Hence  the 
current  proverbs,  *'  Intelligence  is  the  life  of  liberty," 
"  Knowledge  is  power."  Obedience  to  law  and  submission 
to  rightful  authority  was  enforced  as  a  moral "  obligation 
and  a  religious  duty. 

This  comprehensive  meaning  of  the  rights  of  man,  was 
as  well  apprehended  by  those  who  gathered  around  the 
humblest  firesides  as  by  those  who  assembled  in  the 
highest  council  chambers.  The  pulpit  was  the  strongest 
citadel  of  power.  From  that  source  it  made  its  way  into 
and  through  all  the  veins  and  arteries  of  civil,  social,  and 
religious  life.  Its  triumph  marked  the  most  important 
era  in  human  progress.  It  became  the  organic  idea,  the 
fundamental  theory  of  national  life.  The  great  Republic 
lives  upon  It  to  day,  and  will  only  live  while  it  is  cher- 
ished. Hence  Plymouth  Rock  was  one  of  humanity's 
mile-stones.     The  Treaty  of  Peace  in  1783  was  another. 

Now  let  us  from  this  last  named  point  of  departure 
look  back  over  the  intervening  century.  As  I  have  stated, 
"  human  rights,"  in  a  broad  and  comprehensive  sense,  was 
the  bone,  the  nerve,  and  blood  of  the  struggles,  labors, 
and  conflicts,  from  the  December  landing  in  1620  to  the 
triumph  witnessed  and  recorded  by  the  Treaty  of  1783. 
From  this  point  a  new  start  is  made.  God  in  His  wise 
providence  had  preserved  the  fairest  portion  of  earth  as 
the  proper  scene  for  the  display  and  application  of  those 
energies  that  had  grown  strong,  resolute,  courageous  and 
well  disciplined  by  previous  conflicts,  and  He  opened  it 
up  for  occupation  by  those  who  were  well  prepared  to  lay 
new  foundations.  The  most  powerful  nations  of  Europe 
had  asserted  and  maintained  such  claims  to  the  great 
Mississippi  Valley  as  were  recognized  by  international 


45 

law  and  comity.  But  the  Treaty  of  1783  with  those  of 
subsequent  date  gave  to  the  new  and  coming  power  of  the 
people  a  valid  title  from  ocean  to  ocean.  But  who  will 
enter  this  new  Eden  ?  Who  will  withstand  that  serpent's 
subtility  that  had  defiled  every  other  of  God's  gardens  on 
the  face  of  the  whole  earth  ?  What  foundations  will 
they  choose  and  lay  down  in  that  vast  unoccupied  wilder- 
ness ?  Who  is  wise  enough  and  strong  enough  to  devise 
and  apply  organic  principles  upon  which  not  only  all 
that  had  been  gained  during  a  previous  century  and  a 
half  of  struggle  might  be  conserved,  but"  build  thereon  a 
temple  whose  glory  should  eclipse  all  former  structures  ? 
The  military  struggle  ending  with  the  pjeace  of  1783  was 
conducted  by  men  whose  "  bayonets  had  learned  to 
thinkJ'  At  the  close  of  that  memorable  conflict  the  army 
was  obliged  to  do  a  good  deal  of  thinking.  During  its 
continuance  they  had  thought  of  human  rights,  of  politi- 
cal independence,  of  power,  of  government  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  law  and  order,  of  the  conquest  of  the  "  back 
country,"  with  many  correlatives.  But  a  bankrupt  gov- 
ernment sent  that  army  to  their  desolate  homes  without 
compensation  for  their  toils  and  sufferings.  Their  think- 
ing at  that  critical  period  was  quite  commonplace,  upon 
the  plain  every  day  question  of  daily  bread.  The  North- 
west— then  called  the  "  back  country,"  "  vacant  terri- 
tory"— had  been  pointed  out  to  them.  The  strange 
Indinn  word  "  Ohio  "  began  to  pass  around  among  the 
officers  and  soldiers  who  had  earned  their  bounty  lands 
and  hoped  to  invest  their  worthless  "final  certificates"  in 
future  homes.  All  this  thinking  developed  into  purchase 
and  settlement;  but  it  was  not  confined  to  those  condi- 
tions alone.  They  were  men  who  were  competent  to 
grasp  and  decide  upon  the  difficulties  and  hazards  at- 
tending the  organization  of  new  states  and  common- 
wealths. They  appreciated  the  dangers  arising  from  in- 
vesting power  in  the  hands  of  those  who  must  obey  as 
well  as  make  laws.    They  understood  the  value  of  moral 


46 

restraints  and  obligations,  as  well  as  of  knowledge,  in  the 
formation  of  good  government.  Hence  before  entering 
upon  their  hazardous  enterprise  of  permanent  occupation 
they  procured  from  the  United  States  in  Congress  assem- 
bled the  insertion  in  the  organic  law  of  their  intended 
government  the  following  declaration :  "And  for  the 
extending  the  fundamental  principles  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty,  which  form  the  basis  wherever  these  re- 
publics, their  laws  and  constitutions  are  erected;  to  fix 
and  establish  these  principles  as  the  basis  of  all  laws, 
constitutions,,  and  governments  which  now  or  hereafter 
shall  be  formed  in  said  territory;  to  provide  also  for  the 
establishment  of  states  and  permanent  government 
therein,  and  for  their  admission  to  a  share  in  the  Federal 
Councils  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  other  states,  at  as 
early  periods  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  general 
interest ;  it  is  hereby  ordained  and  declared,  by  the  au- 
thority aforesaid  (the  United  States  in  Congress  assem- 
bled), that  the  following  articles  shall  be  considered  as 
articles  of  compact  between  the  original  states  and  the 
people  and  states  in  the  said  territory,  and  forever  remain 
unalterable  unless  by  common  consent." 

Profane  history  may  be  challenged  to  produce  another 
instance  where  laws  and  constitutions  had  ever  been 
prepared  before  hand,  pre-arranged  and  projected  into  a 
territory  prior  to  its  occupation  by  its  inhabitants. 
The  Divine  economy  did  so  arrange,  pre-ordain,  and 
publish  to  his  chosen  people  the  laws,  ordinances,  and 
polity  that  were  to  govern  them  in  their  promised  land. 
But  throughout  the  many  changes,  migrations,  and  con- 
quests under  which  the  race  has  occupied  the  earth, 
either  the  will  of  the  conqueror  after  conquest,  or  the 
growth  of  governmental  principles  subsequently  has  been 
the  true  origin  of  political  institutions.  But  here  is  an 
attempt  to  pre-ordain,  to  prepare  before-hand  laws,  con- 
stitutions, principles,  governments,  and  states,  upon  a 
basis  that  should  remain  forever  unalterable.     It  was  the 


47 

handiwork  of  commonwealth  founders  and  builders. 
They  evidently  so  understood  their  work  at  tliat  time  for 
they  distinctly  declare  their  object  to  be,  to  fix  and  es- 
tablish these  principles  as  the  basis  of  all  laws,  constitu- 
tions, and  governments  which  forever  hereafter  shall  be 
found  in  said  territory. 

No  one  man  can  claim  a  patent  as  the  inventor  of  any 
of  these  "  fundamental  principles."  They  had  been 
thovght  over,  preached  over,  prayed  over,  fought  over,  since 
the  snn  first  shone  upon  Anglo-American  homes  on  the 
North  American  continent.  It  was  the  intelligent  appli- 
cation of  those  principles  at  the  right  time  and  in  the 
right  place  that  presents  a  subject  of  interesting  and  in- 
structive enquiry. 

But  what  were  those  bases,  those  fundamental  princi- 
ples, that  were  thus  boldly  and  confidently  thrown  for- 
ward into  the  very  heart  of  the  great  Republic  at  a  time 
when  there  was  no  rubbish  to  clear  away,  no  old  habits 
to  correct,  no  hostilities  to  encounter  ?  First,  entire 
freedom  of  religious  sentiment  and  worship.  Then  comes 
a  Bill  of  Rights,  throwing  the  most  salutary  safeguards 
around  the  person  and  his  property.  Then  we  find  as  a 
basis  in  the  coming  commonwealths,  "Religion,  Morality, 
Knowledge  being  necessary  to  good  government  and  the 
happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and  means  of  education 
shall  forever  be  encouraged."  For  the  first  time  in  pro- 
fane history  we  are  here  presented  with  a  clear  and 
distinct  recognition  of  moral  and  educational  forces — 
with  full  guarantee  of  personal  rights — as  essential  to 
good  government.  For  the  first  time  they  are  neatly  and 
compactly  wrought  into  the  very  foundations  of  civil 
society.  In  other  cases,  conquests,  force,  power,  in  all 
varieties  of  applications,  had  controlled  the  destinies  of 
the  race  and  had  shaped  governmental  organizations. 
Here  is  a  full  acceptance  of  three  forces  standing  side  by 
side  with  trial  by  jury,  the  right  of  habeas  corpus,  and 


48 

other  personal  securities — with  an  injunction  that  they 
shall  be  forever  encouraged. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1788,  there  was  a  transfer  to  the 
virgin  soil  of  the  great  valley,  of  the  results  of  the  con- 
troversies, struggles,  discussions,  and  decisions  that  had 
prevailed  on  the  Atlantic  slope  for  a  previous  century. 
Rights  and  liberties,  theories  and  institutions — all  consti- 
tuting the  foundations  on  which  to  build  a  permanent 
Christian  civilization,  floated  down  the  smooth  surface  of 
the  Ohio  river  and  landed  right  here  on  that  day.  Hence 
the  7th  of  April,  1788,  was  an  epoch,  as  much  so  as  the 
landing  of  the  Conqueror  on  Britain  soil,  of  the  Pilgrims 
at  Plymouth,  or  the  Cavaliers  at  Jamestown.  It  was  an 
epoch  because  it  planted  in  this  broad  interior,  the  very 
heart  of  a  continent,  those  distinctive  ideas  and  policies 
which  are  exceptional  in  their  direct  application  to  gov- 
ernmental affairs.  Hence  Marietta  became  the  gate-way 
to  a  Christian  civilization  for  a  future  empire.  This 
transfer  was  committed  to  pioneer  hands  who  came  to 
occupy  a  wilderness  and  "  cause  it  to  bud  and  blossom  as 
the  rose."  We  may  now  trace  their  steps  and  see  whether 
these  pioneers  have  been  faithful  to  their  high  trust. 

On  a  pleasant  autumn  day,  ninety-seven  years  ago,  a 
party  of  intelligent  gentlemen  from  among  the  origina- 
tors and  founders  of  civilization  in  Ohio,  started  in  the 
morning  from  "  Campus  Martins,"  visited  the  United 
States  garrisons  at  Fort  Harmar,  then  an  Indian  camp, 
thence  (to  quote  from  the  brief  record),  "^up  the  high 
hill  northwest  of  the  fort  and  west  of  the  city — fine  pros- 
pect— some  excellent  land — fine  place  for  building.''  Now 
it  is  worthy  of  a  moment's  enquiry,  what  was  that  "  fine 
prospect,"  as  they  stood  in  the  wild  woods  and  among 
Indian  graves  on  the  top  of  Harmar  Hill  ?  They  looked 
down  upon  Fort  Harmar  with  its  beautiful  and  extensive 
gardens,  an  emblem  of  the  sword  converting  itself  into 
the  plough  share.     The  rude  camp  of  the  Indian  was 


49 

then  awaiting  a  treaty  that  would  displace  savage  for 
civilized  life.  The  broad  and  luxuriant  panorama,  the 
winding  rivers,  surrounding  hills,  the  magnificent 
growth  of  forests  abounding  with  the  wild  fruits  of  vine 
and  tree,  was  opened  out  before  them.  There  lay  a  corn- 
field planted  by  civilized  hands  four  months  previously, 
the  pioneer  cornfield  of  a  valley  that  can  now  yield  bread 
enough  to  drive  hunger  from  European  as  well  as  from 
American  homes. 

There  lay  within  the  bounds  of  ''  the  city  "  the  monu- 
ments of  a  dead  and  buried  past,  leaving  no  record  of 
services  performed  for  humanity,  only  mounds  and  eleva- 
tions of  earth  works.  There  also  was  '''  Campus  Mar- 
tins" standing  guard  over  the  scattered  homes  of  the 
few  pioneers  whose  lives  it  held  in  trust.  Such  was  the 
"  fine  prospect"  that  arrested  the  limited  vision  of  those 
who  gazed  upon  it  a  century  ago.  But  the  account  from 
which  I  have  quoted  closes  with  another  and  distinct 
announcement  of  the  fine  prospect  that  was  then  floating 
before  the  minds  of  that  intelligent  and  cultivated  com- 
pany of  observers.  It  says,  '*  It  is  proposed  that  the  Uni- 
versity should  be  located  on  this  hill^  This  opens  a  fine 
prospect  in  another  direction,  but  one  that  was  in  entire 
accordance  with  their  sympathies,  wishes,  and  plans. 
They  had  made  provision  for  that  very  thing  at  the  time 
they  decided  to  cast  their  lot  in  this  then  distant  wilder- 
ness. In  holding  out  inducements  to  their  neighbors  to 
leave  their  New  England  homes  and  become  adventurers, 
they  used  the  following  language  :  ^'  In  the  late  Ordinance 
of  Congress  for  disposing  of  the  western  lands  as  far 
down  as  the  river  Scioto,  the  provision  that  is  made  for 
schools,  and  the  endowment  of  a  University,  looks  with  a 
most  favorable  aspect  upon  the  settlement,  and  furnishes 
the  presentiment  that  by  a  proper  attention  to  the  subject 
of  education  under  these  advantages,  the  field  of  science 
may  be  greatly  enlarged,  and  the  acquisition  of  useful 


50 

knowledge  placed  upon  a  more  respectable  footing  ?iere 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world." 

This  is  pretty  strong  language  and  an  adverse  critic 
might  object  to  it  as  an  expression  of  zeal  and  enthusi- 
asm rather  than  a  cool  estimate  of  those  provisions  in 
the  Ordinance  of  Congress  which  point  out  religion, 
morality,  and  knowledge,  as  necessary  to  good  govern- 
ment, and  make  some  provision  for  their  support.  But 
the  candid  observer  may  claim  that  these  elementary 
principles  are  still  on  trial  and  only  need  a  cordial  ac- 
ceptance, a  more  generous  support,  to  give  them  com- 
plete success.  At  any  rate  it  is  evident  that  Ohio  was 
born  with  college  on  the  brain,  as  well  as  with  ''  religion, 
morality,  and  knowledge  "  in  her  bones. 

This  preliminary  reminiscence  brings  us  more  nearly 
to  the  work  in  hand,  the  labors  and  efforts  of  the  de- 
scendants of  the  pioneer  fathers  in  applying  those  princi- 
ples, which  we  have  traced  down  through  the  generations 
to  their  transfer  to  western  soil.  Two  important  facts 
are  stated  by  the  writer  from  whom  I  have  quoted,  as 
illustrating  the  situation  as  it  passed  into  the  pioneer 
hands. 

First — ''  There  will  be  an  advantage  which  no  other 
part  of  the  earth  can  boast,  and  which  probably  never 
will  occur  again,  that  in  order  to  begin  right  there  will  be 
no  wrong  habits  to  combat  and  no  inveterate  systems  to 
overturn  ;  there  is  no  rubbish  to  remove  before  we  begin 
to  lay  the  foundations. '' 

Second — '*  The  first  settlement  will  be  undertaken  by 
many  men  of  the  most  liberal  minds." 

More  than  half  a  century  of  pioneer  labors  and  strug- 
gles, 'with  incident  failures  and  successes,  have  passed 
away,  when  we  find  the  citizens  of  •  Marietta  assembled 
to  witness  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  second  edifice 
of  Marietta  College.  Nahum  Ward,  Esq.,  reflects  a  prevail- 
ing sentiment  at  the  time  in  addressing  his  fellow  citizens 


51 

as  follows  :  "  Permit  me  to  greet  you  with  the  kindest 
salutations.  It  is  with  feelings  of  no  ordinary  pride  and 
satisfaction  that  I  am  permitted  to  congratulate  you  and 
the  public  on  this  interesting  occasion,  showing  forth  in 
the  descendants  of  our  Puritan  fathers  that  spirit  so  pre- 
dominant in  them  and  which  continues  generously  to 
^ow,  the  building  up  oj  institutions  of  learning,  the  princi- 
pal guardians  of  liberty  and  virtue.  Long  may  this 
college  flourish  to  the  honor  of  Marietta  and  the  glory 
of  Ohio."  The  response  to  this  salutation  was  made  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Lindsley,  cording  directly  from  the  father- 
land to  watch  over  and  cherish  the  application  of  New 
England  theories  and  policies  upon  the  soil  of  a  vineyard 
of  their  own  planting.  He  said  :  ''  Its  trustees  and  pat- 
rons are  deeply  convinced  that  true  science  and  pure 
Christianity  are  not  foes,  but  friends  and  allies.  They 
believe  that  the  Author  of  Nature  is  also  the  Author  of 
Revelation.  He  has  given  us  a  moral  as  well  as  intel- 
lectual constitution  and  has  provided  for  the  development 
of  both.  Wise  educators  will  never  overlook  this  im- 
portant fact.  What  God  hath  joined  together  let  not  man 
put  asunder."  After  speaking  most  encouragingly  of 
Marietta  as  a  location  capable  of  great  improvement,  he 
points  out  her  future  in  the  following  words  :  "  Never- 
theless we  apprehend  that  the  highest  vocation  of  Ma- 
rietta is  education."  He  then  refers  to  the  high  character 
of  the  pioneer  settlers,  and  their  peculiar  fitness  for  such 
an  important  enterprise,  and  repeats  the  injunction:  '^I 
say  then  again  that  the  chief  and  appropriate  vocation 
of  Marietta  is  to  educate,  to  make  herself  a  radiating 
point  for  the  diffusion  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  and  it 
is  to  carry  out  these  views  that  I  now,  as  the  organ  both 
of  the  citizens  and  the  Board  of  Trustees,  lay  the  corner 
stone  of  this  new  College  Edifice." 

This  business  of  laying  corner  stones  seems  to  have 
been  a  favorite  one  with  that  class  of  people  who  were 
fairly  represented  on  that  occasion.     They  began  to  lay 


52 

corner  stones  on  the  Mayflower  even  before  they  found 
shelter  for  their  families  on  the  stormy  shores  of  New 
England.  They  kept  on  laying  corner  stones  in  every 
township,  village,  and  city  of  their  adopted  land — a 
corner  stone  for  civil  rights  and  the  proper  exercise  of 
political  power,  a  corner  stone  for  a  learned  and  orthodox 
ministry,  a  corner  stone  for  the  school  and  local  acad- 
emy, a  corner  stone  for  Yale  and  Harvard  and  other 
higher  institutions  of  learning.  They  laid  a  corner  stone 
at  Bunker  Hill.  On  the  13th  of  July,  1787,  they  laid  a 
corner  stone  for  an  empire,  where  moral  and  educational 
influence  would  be  brought  to  support  good  government 
and  the  happiness  of  mankind.  On  the  7th  of  April, 
1788,  they  began  to  build  and  work  into  the  foundations 
of  civilization  here  upon  the  threshold  of  the  great 
valley,  all  the  living  and  priceless  materials  of  former 
efforts.  Those  materials  are  represented  in  "  college  edi- 
fices," where  true  science  and  pure  Christianity  are  not 
foes,  but  friends  and  allies.  Now  if  it  be  true  that  re- 
ligion and  knowledge  are  essential  to  good  government,, 
then  it  follows  that  founders  of  Christian  colleges  are 
builders  of  nations. 

The  completed  charter  of  Marietta  College  bears  date 
February  14,  1835.  During  the  first  half  century  of 
its  life  the  whole  list  of  Trustees  comprises  fifty  names  ; 
of  these  seventeen  are  deceased,  and  their  names  are 
appropriate  subjects  of  mention  on  this  occasion.  They 
are  found  on  the  catalogue  as  follows,  with  date  of  ap- 
pointment :  Dr.  John  Cotton,  John  Mills,  Caleb  Emer- 
son, Anselm  T.  Nye,  Dr.  Jonas  Moore,  and  Rev.  L.  G. 
Bingham,  all  appointed  in  1835,  and  being  with  one 
now  living  all  the  original  charter  members.  Rev.  Dr. 
Linsley,  elected  President  in  1835,  became  a  Trustee  by 
virtue  of  his  office.  Then  follow  Rev.  Dr.  Jacob  Little  and 
Rev.  C.  M.  Putnam  in  1845;  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Smith,  1846; 
William  Slocomb,  1847;  Noah  L.  Wilson,  Wm.  R.  Putnam, 
and  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Wickes,  1849  ;  Samuel  Shipman, 


53 

1859,  and  B.  B.  Gaylord,  1864.  To  attempt  a  personal 
eulogy  of  each  of  these  men  would  be  too  great  a  trespass 
upon  the  time  of  this  occasion,  and  I  may  well  feel  re- 
lieved from  that  duty,  however  pleasant  though  mourn- 
ful the  task  might  be,  from  the  fact  that  their  characters 
were  so  conspicuous,  and  so  highly  esteemed  in  this  com- 
munity that  a  presentation  of  their  personal  character- 
istics is  entirely  unnecessary. 

While  according  to  all  the  fullest  commendation  for 
their  intelligent,  liberal,  and  constant  support  of  the 
college,  it  may  not  appear  invidious  to  recall  especially 
the  labors  and  efforts  of  the  resident  Trustees.  While  as 
a  Board  they  were  a  unit  in  any  line  of  policy  once  de- 
cided upon,  yet  the  heaviest  burden  necessarily  devolved 
upon  the  members  residing  in  this  city.  They  started 
their  enterprise  with  a  very  slender  fund,  and  that 
supplied  largely  by  themselves.  Through  many  years  of 
doubtful,  but  energetic  efforts,  they  continued  to  build,  to 
employ  the  best  services  for  instruction,  and  accumu- 
late endowment.  A  large  proportion  of  the  deceased 
Trustees  were  college  graduates,  all  were  men  of  superior 
intelligence,  uniting  the  best  business  capacities  with  the 
most  liberal  and  comprehensive  views  upon  this  import- 
ant subject — the  diffusion  of  knowledge  upon  the  solid 
basis  ot  a  thoroughly  Christian  culture.  Their  aim  was 
to  maintain  the  highest  grade  of  scholarship,  and  support 
that  grade  by  thorough  moral  training.  They  were  faith- 
ful to  the  traditions  and  policies  of  New  England, 
their  fatherland.  Every  young  man  sent  forth  from  the 
college  has  received  that  kind  of  training  that  fits  him  to 
stand  in  his  lot  as  a  pillar  and  support  to  the  state  or  the 
nation.  He  carries  with  him  those  moral  and  intellectual 
forces  of  which  these  departed  Trustees  have  been  the 
faithful  conservators.  Their  work  is  their  memorial. 
Their  memories  are  fragrant  and  green,  their  lives  and 
labors  are  cherished  on  this  half  century  celebration,  and 


54 

will  ripen  into  still  higher  appreciation  as  the  fruit  of 
their  efforts  becomes  more  and  more  manifest. 

Republican  government  with  personal  rights  thereun- 
der may  be  experimental.  This  new  departure  of  incor- 
porating intellectual  and  moral  forces  with  its  foundations 
is  on  trial.  Marietta  College,  its  founders  and  guardians, 
are  applying  those  forces,  and  the  life  of  a  nation  may 
turn  upon  such  efforts  made  throughout  the  borders  of 
the  great  Republic.  I  turn  from  the  deceased  to  the 
living  with  a  word  of  encouragement  and  exhortation. 
Past  success  may  well  stimulate  continued  effort.  Mari- 
'etta  has  an  appropriate  field  from  which  a  thousand 
students  may  and  ought  to  be  gathered.  The  valley  of 
the  Ohio  river,  with  a  length  of  four  hundred  miles,  and 
a  breadth  of  a  hundred  miles,  presents  a  territory 
for  which  this  college  becomes — as  its  first  honored 
President  indicated — "  a  radiating  point  for  the  diffusion 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge." 

An  intelligent  and  spicy  writer  in  describing  the  intel- 
lectual activity  prevailing  in  that  great  emporium  of 
European  thought,  the  city  of  Geneva,  half  a  century 
ago,  condenses  the  situation  with  the  remark.  "  Geneva 
must  think  or  die."  I  am  reluctant  to  hold  such  a 
prophetic  menace  over  Marietta,  as  she  is  possessed  of 
many  sources  of  prosperity — growth  and  life.  In  her  in- 
dustrial and  coriimercial  condition,  she  has  prospects 
worthy  of  all  her  energies.  But  to  maintain  the  original 
grand  purpose  which  entered  into  the  plans  of  her  pio- 
neers, and  constituted  a  basis  as  well  as  stimulant  of 
their  noble  sacrifices  and  labors,  and  which  has  received 
such  efficient  endorsement  and  support  from  their  de- 
scendants and  representatives.  Marietta  must  fill  her  high 
*'  vocation  " — she  must  continue  to  educate  or  die. 


ADDRESS  MEMORIAL  OF  THE  FIRST  FACULTY, 

BY    EEV.    DE.    J.    F.    TUTTLE, 

PRESIDENT  OF  WAgASII  COLLEGE. 


Seneca  says  that  ''men  venerate  the  fountains  whence 
important  streams  take  their  rise."  Yielding  to  this 
natural  impulse  we  have  begun  to  celebrate  the  Jubilee 
of  Marietta  College. 

And  at  the  very  outset  let  me  ask  your  indulgence  if 
the  humblest  of  her  sons  shall  seem  to  intrude  himself 
too  often  on  your  notice  in  referring  to  days  long  gone 
by,  and  to  men  many  of  whom  are  no  longer  numbered 
among  the  living.  If  it  be  an  error  generously  pardon 
it  as  committed  by  one  who  would  honor  his  mother. 

And  still  further  in  an  apologetic  way  let  me  remind 
you  how  closely  the  field  which  is  assigned  me  this 
evening  has  been  gleaned.  Numerous  newspaper  and 
magazine  articles  and  more  elaborate  eulogies  have  re- 
peatedly gone  over  this  ground.  And  besides  this,  many 
here  assembled  to  listen  to  the  papers  of  this  evening  are 
familiar  with  the  events  and  characters  to  be  discussed. 
In  your  goodness  then  let  me  especially  find  some  apol- 
ogy, if  to-night  I  shall  bring  before  you  some  things  which 
have  not  the  attraction  of  novelty. 

And  I  must  needs  be  allowed  to  report  how  these  men 
and  incidents  of  that  far  off  time  appeared  to  me  as  I 
now  recall  them.  I  shall  not  attempt  memoirs  of  these 
human  careers  of  which  we  are  thinking  to-night.     It  is 


56 

a  memorial  I  am  to  write  and  not  a  memoir,  and  to  do 
this  I  must  try  to  have  you  look  at  its  persons  and  things 
as  they  appear  to  me. 

How  like  a  beautiful  dream  is  the  reminiscence  of  my 
first  sight  of  Marietta!  In  the  deepening  darkness  of  the 
stormy  night,  I  seem  again  to  see  the  cheerful  lights  of  its 
homes,  and  to  hear  the  cheerful  notes  of  the  stageman's 
horn  although  it  was  nearly  forty-eight  years  since  our 
coach  drawn  by  four  che«?tnut-brown  Morgans  rattled 
into  town.  And  more  cheerful  still  but  not  less  distinct 
the  words  of  the  Christian  woman  who4he  next  morning 
with  a  cheery  laugh  told  me  that  I  was  a  week  too  soon, 
and  gave  me  a  motherly  welcome  to  her  home!  Blessed 
voice,  long  since  hushed  in  death,  but  its  melody  comes 
back  over  the  wide  interval  of  years  as  though  I  had 
heard  it  only  an  hour  ago.  It  may  seem  no  compliment 
to  my  intelligence,  but  not  six  weeks  before  I  had  not 
even  heard  of  **  Marietta  College,"  destined  as  it  was  to 
exert  so  great  an  influence  on  my  life. 

Of  the  community  in  which  this  institution  first  saw 
the  light,  and  of  its  founders  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to 
speak  at  any  length.  And  yet  the  Marietta  pioneers  must 
have  been  extraordinary  men.  The  fire  of  the  American 
Revolution  burnt  brightly  in  their  hearts.  They  were  in 
full  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  ''the  ordinance  of  '87" 
as  amended  by  Dr.  Cutler,  and  they  were  the  enemies  of 
irreligion,  ignorance,  and  slavery.  And  they  had  breathed 
their  spirit  into  their  children  so  that  the  purpose  of  the 
fathers  animated  the  sons  to  plant  in  the  wilderness  north 
of  the  Ohio  another  New  England  like  the  one  they  had 
left. 

For  such  people  to  found  churches  and  schools  was  as 
natural  as  for  the  eagle  to  fly  through  the  heaven.  It  is 
no  new  observation  that  at  least  some  of  the  colleges  in 
that  vast  wilderness  sprang  into  existence  from  certain 
noble  social  forces  which  naturally  wrought  in  that  direc- 
tion.    The  history  of  Western  Reserve,  Marietta,  Wabash, 


67 

and  Illinois  Colleges  was  in  fact  the  repetition  of  the  his- 
tory of  Yale,  Princeton,  and  Williams.  Men  of  a  superior 
type  were  raised  up  by  divine  providence  to  found  these 
institutions. 

Marietta  College  was  no  exception  to  this  rule.  Seldom 
is  any  institution  able  to  trace  its  origin  back  to  nobler 
hearts  than  those  whose  piety  and  wisdom  planted  this 
college.  How  well  and  eloquently  has  this  already  been 
made  to  appear  to-night. 

The  Rev.  Luther  G.  Bingham  was  a  graduate  of  Mid- 
dlebury  and  a  tutor  there.  He  was  a  successful  pastor 
and  probably  was  the  originator  of  the  school  which 
grew  into  the  college. 

Dr.  John  Cotton  was  a  learned  alumnus  of  Harvard,  a 
distinguished  physician  and  especially  fond  of  philosophy. 
He  was  also  a  noble  Christian  man. 

Caleb  Emerson  was  an  encyclo[)edia  of  knowledge,  and 
a  profound  thinker.  When  John  Quincy  Adams  stopped 
at  Marietta  an  hour  in  1843,  he  found  his  peer  in  the 
Marietta  editor. 

Dr.  Jonas  Moore  was  an  eminent  and  learned  physician 
and  philanthropist. 

Mr.  Anselm  T.  Nye  was  a  man  of  solid  worth  and 
esteemed  in  all  the  relations  he  held  in  the  community 

Col.  John  Mills  was  at  that  time  a  leading  merchant  of 
Marietta.  He  was  a  man  of  commanding  presence,  ^ 
courteous  gentleman  whose  conversation  was  seasoned 
with  a  delightful  humor  that  had  in  it  no  sting.  His  in- 
tegrity was  never  questioned.  He  was  a  Christian  with- 
out guile,  a  citizen  without  an  enemy,  and  a  man  honored 
and  beloved  universally.  He  lived  to  a  great  age,  a  life 
which  like  a  summer  day  grew  more  and  more  beautiful 
until  it  was  hidden  from  human  sight  by  the  deepening 
glories  of  the  sunset. 

Of  the  seventh — Mr.  Douglas  Putnam — I  may  not 
speak.  Nor  need  I  to  the  thousands  who  know  him  and 
the  hundreds  of  our  alumni  whose  diplomas  are  graced 


58 

by  his  autograph.     The  sole  survivor  of  the  founders, 
may  his  bow  long  abide  in  strength  ! 

My  memorial  starts  from  the  view-point  of  the  college 
as  it  was  in.  1837.  According  to  its  charter  it  was  then 
two  years  old,  but  in  fact  it  was  four.  I  recall  the  appear- 
ance of  its  single  building,  the  size  and  furniture  of  its 
rooms,  and  each  one  of  the  fifty-one  young  men  then  in 
its  college  and  teachers'  classes.  To  me  who  had  never 
seen  a  college  this  seemed  very  grand.  Its  library,  made 
up  largely  of  the  odds  and  ends  of  clergymen's  libraries, 
seemed  immense.  We  were  but  a  handful  of  young  men, 
and  the  most  of  us  poor  in  all  but  a  vigorous  purpose  to 
"work  out  our  own  salvation." 

But  there  was  even  then  a  fine  literary  atmosphere  here 
which  invigorated  the  recitations  and  debates,  and  showed 
itself  in  original  orations,  and  even  poems.  The  halls 
sometimes  rang  with  fun,  but  it  was  not  malicious. 
Ramage  and  Lowrey  and  Page  sometimes  extemporized 
farces  in  front  of  the  college,  attended  by  rollicking  mirth 
that  sometimes  had  to  be  checked,  but  the  main  element 
that  controlled  the  college  was  a  scholarly  culture,  show- 
ing itseli  in  its  generous  sympathy  with  the  remarkable 
men  who  taught  its  classes.  In  no  western  college,  and 
perhaps  in  no  eastern  one,  could  Professor  Smith  have 
found  more  enthusiastic  undergraduate  auxiliaries  to  aid 
in  verifying  the  multitudinous  references  in  his  Homeric 
Lexicon  than  he  found  here. 

The  literary  societies  were  full  of  blood,  and  defied  all 
restraints  on  the  freedom  of  discussion.  Sometimes  ex- 
citement ran  high,  but  it  was  generous  and  healthy,  and 
in  these  collisions  we  found  exhaustless  pleasure.  To  us 
it  was  a  rich  experience,  the  delights  of  which  seem  even 
yet  to  linger  in  our  taste. 

"  Be  it  a  weakness,  it  deserves  some  praise, 
We  love  the  play-place  of  our  early  days." 

In  those  days  we  "  attended  prayers  "  at  five  o'clock 


59 

morning  and  evening.  The  first  recitation  followed 
morning  prayers,  and  in  the  winter  each  one  carried  his 
own  lamp  to  the  recitation  room.  But  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  morning  prayers  and  recitations  before  day- 
liojht  in  the  winter  time  were  not  attractive.  It  was  a 
type  of  piety  that  was  greatly  in  advance  of  our  condi- 
tion and  capacities. 

Occasionally  our  ante-daylight  devotions  were  rendered 
positively  interesting  by  some  enterprising  joker — an 
early  riser — who  had  sprinkled  the  stone  steps  on  a  cold 
morning  for  the  fun  of  seeirfg  man  after  man  on  his  way 
to  chapel  skating  impetuously  on  his  knees  or  otherwise 
down  the  well  glazed  steps  toward  the  terrace.  But  no 
ingenuity  even  of  that  sort  nor  of  any  other  could  invest 
these  unnatural  exercises  with  much  fascination  to  boys 
who  were  sleepy.  And  then  at  least  three  of  the  classes 
after  prayers  descended  to  those  subterranean  recitation 
rooms  which  now  are  used  for  coal  cellars.  There  in 
the  scarcely  relieved  darkness  we  recited  in  a  sort 
of  benumbed  misery,  because  such  had  been  the 
method  in  New  England. 

Nor  were  the  ''college  commons''  and  the  system  of  man- 
ual labor  very  popular.  Both  were  thoroughly  tested  but 
"the  commons"  to  this  day  is  in  our  recollections  scarcely 
less  pleasant  with  its  plain  food  than  the  shops  in  which 
for  "  the  good  of  our  souls  "  we  made  brooms  and  barrels. 
It  sounded  well  to  speak  of  giving  students  "  sound  and 
vigorous  borlies  *  *  — fitting  ministers  to  endure 
hardness  as  good  soldiers,"  but  the  system  was  not  popu- 
lar. It  was  a  source  of  constant  annoyance  and  collision. 
Designed  to  promote  the  health  of  students  large  num- 
bers had  attacks  of  sickness  about  the  time  the  bell  sum- 
moned them  to  labor.  But  they  recovered  before  the 
ringing  of  the  supper  bell.  Even  the  matchless  diicipline 
of  Professor  Allen  and  the  exhaustless  wit  and  patience 
of  Deacon  Adams  were  unavailing  to  make  manual  labor 
popular.     Probably  owing  to  the  presence  of  "  original 


60 

sin  "  in  us,  or  ^'  the  want  of  original  righteousness,"  we 
were  quite  unanimous  in  our  dislike  of  manual  labor — 
and  also  in  our  prayers  that  ''  it  might  die  young."  But 
it  is  certain  that  the  manual  labor  did  not  greatly  diminish 
our  animal  spirits  nor  did  the  college  commons  prevent 
«ur  being  a  set  of  hungry  and  jolly  fellows  with  enough 
life  in  us  to  give  both  "  college  commons  "  and  "  manual 
labor,"  when  they  died,  a  send-off  worthy  of  them  ! 
I  venture  the  guess  that  the  Original  Faculty  of  Marietta 
College  regarded  these  two  institutions  as  furnishing  a 
full  share  of  the  daily  annoyances  that  tried  them. 

Should  you  think  me  slow  in  placing  the  Original 
Faculty  of  "  Marietta  College  "  on  the  canvas,  you  must 
remember  there  must  be  worked  up  "a,  background  "  for 
the  picture.  Let  me  now  try  my  unskillful  brush  in  de- 
picting the  men  included  in  my  theme. 

They  numbered  hve.  Joel  H.  Linsley,  D.  D.,  the  first 
President,  and  Professors  Henry  Smith  (afterwards  the  sec- 
ond President),  D.  Howe  Allen,  Milo  P.  Jewett,  and  Samuel 
Maxwell.  The}^  were  elected  in  1833,  under  the  first  char- 
ter, although  Professor  Smith  began  to  teach  here  in  1832. 
Of  two  others  who  at  an  early  date  became  members  of 
the  Faculty  I  will  say  but  little  for  two  reasons,  they  were 
not  members  of  the  original  Faculty,  and  they  are  yet 
living.  President  Andrews  was  appointed  Tutor  in  the 
fall  of  1838,  and  Dr.  Kendrick  came  in  the  fall  of  1840. 
For  these  men  a  multitude  of  Marietta  students  entertain 
a  profound  respect.  They  have  been  excelled  by  no  one 
in  their  devotion  to  this  college  during  a  period  of  many 
years — the  one  forty-seven  years  and  the  other  forty-five 
years.  The  history  of  the  college. must  assign  a  promi- 
nent place  to  these  two  men  whose  joint  lives  here  amount 
to  nearly  a  century,  and  who  have  served  the  college  in 
dark  and  perilous  times  with  a  fidelity  that  has  never 
wavered,  and  with  a  self-sacriPice  that  has  been  heroic. 
I  voice  the  love  of  hundreds  taught  by  them  in  these 
simple  but  hearty  words. 


61 

Forty-eight  years  ago  I  first  saw  President  Linsley.* 
He  was  then  forty-seven  years  old.  His  dark  hair  was 
becoming  well  dashed  with  gray.  His  black  eyes  were 
lighted  with  an  unusual  brilliancy  when  interested  in 
conversation  or  preaching.  It  was  my  first  interview 
with  a  college  president.  Then  and  always  in  his  best 
moods  his  face  was  illumined  by  the  goodness  of  his 
heart.  It  was  the  winning  face  of  a  man  whose  piety 
had  not  been  soured  by  false  notions  of  the  badness  of 
people  in  general  and  the  virtue  of  himself  in  particular. 
Religion  in  his  manners  and  words  was  savored  with 
sweetness.  Sometimes,  as  when  preaching  iu  the  great 
revival  that  shook  the  college  in  the  spring  of  1839,  he 
was  electrical  with  the  intense  interest  that  spoke  in  his 
tones,  his  gestures,  and  his  looks.  He  then  seemed  in- 
spired and  his  appeals  were  quite  irresistible.  On  occa- 
sions of  this  sort  he  appeared  in  peculiar  contrast  with 
Dr..  Smith.  The  former  seemed  like  a  spring  sun  warm- 
ing and  winning,  and  seeming  to  say  with  touching 
tenderness,  "  Oh  come  and  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious."  The  latter  in  deep  and  dreadful  undertones 
or  loud  and  dreadful  thunder,  froze  one's  heart  with  the 
words — doubly  terrible  as  uttered  by  him — ''cut  it  down." 
Both  were  great  preachers.  The  Kev.  Albert  Barnes 
Qnce  said  of  these  men,  both  of  whom  had  preached 
with  great  acceptance  in  his  church:  ''  Dr.  Smith  is  a 
very  great  preacher — few  are  greater — but  I  cannot  con- 
vince my  church  that  he  is  the  equal  of  Dr.  Linsley  !  " 
It  was  a  fine  encomium  and  we  need  not  trouble  ourselves 
with  invidious  comparisons.  Dr.  Linsley  was  able  in  the 
class  room,  but  his  true  throne  was  the  pulpit.  In  both 
positions  he  did  a  great  work  for  this  college  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  so  much  of  his  time  and  strength  was  spent 
in  asking  alms  to  save  the  imperilled  institution.     A  man 


*Joel  Harvey  Linsley  was  bom  at  Cornwall,  Vt.,  July  16,  1790,  was 
graduated  at  Middlebury  College  with  first  honors  1811,  was  ordained 
1824,  and  died  at  Greenwich,  Conn.,  March  22,  1868. 


62 

of  no  mean  intellect,  his  greatest  power  was  his  transcend- 
ent goodness.  In  the  class  room,  or  the  social  circle, 
preaching  or  travelling,  this  quality  controlled  him. 

I  recall  an  incident.  He  was  returning  to  Maiietta 
at  the  close  of  his  summer  vacation.  The  river  was  very 
low  and  at  Wheeling  he  found  a  small  stern-wheel  boat, 
and  it  was  Friday.  The  captain  assured  him  he  Would 
reach  Marietta  the  next  morning  and  so  the  Doctor  went 
aboard.  The  boat  got  aground  so  often  that  when 
Saturday  night  came  it  was  still  twenty-five  miles  to 
Marietta.  Against  the  remonstrances  of  the  captain  and 
the  passengers  he  was  taken  to  the  shore  with  his  trunk 
and  landed  where  there  was  not  a  house  in  sight.  But 
he  soon  found  one  and  sent  for  his  trunk.  True  to  his 
calling  he  asked  the  farmer  to  circulate  word  that  the 
next  day  he  would  preach  at  his  house.  He  was  hardly 
settled  in  his  quarters  when  he  found  a  Marietta  hack 
bound  for  home  which  he  engaged  to  stay  with  him  until 
Monday  morning,  and  after  having  rested  the  Sabbath 
according  to  the  commandment  he  rode  home.  He  had 
gone  only  a  few  miles  when  he  overtook  the  steamer  he 
had  left,  hopelessly  stuck  fast  on  a  sand  bar,  and  her 
passengers  making  their  way  to  Marietta  afoot  as  best 
they  could. 

And  in  this  way  his  life  was  rendered  beautiful  by 
illustrations  of  his  goo  Iness. 

*'  Howe'er  it  be,  it  seems  to  me 

'Tis  only  noble  to  be  good. 

Kind  hearts  are  more  thaa  coronets, 

And  simple  faith  than  Norman  blood." 
Let  me  add  an  incident  which  shows  his  virtue  mixed 
with  humor.  Once  he  was  taking  that  dreary  ride  in  the 
stage  coach  from  Zanesville  to  Marietta,  and  the  coach 
was  upset  to  the  slight  injury  of  some  of  our  passengers. 
A  flask  of  brandy  was  furnished  the  Doctor  whose  arm 
was  severely  bruised.  Before  using  it  for  his  own  relief 
he  bathed  the  wounds  of  several,  but  when  he  came  to  a 
man  who  was  hurt  but  whose  conversation  and  manners 


63 

before  the  accident  showed  he  had  been  drinking,  the 
Doctor  remarked,  "  Yod  do  not  need  any  outward  appli- 
cation. You  have  already  as  much  in  you  as  you  can 
stand  ! " 

My  last  interview  with  Dr.  Linslcy  was  at  Greenwich. 
He  was  then  a  hale,  active  man  of  seventy-five  years.  To 
me  it  was  a  memorable  visit.  My  venerable  President 
received  me  as  a  son  and  let  his  good  heart  overflow  in 
benedictions  on  the  college  and  its  friends  and  its  alumni. 
And  he  talked  of  his  church,  and  his  work,  and  his  plans, 
with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  a  young  pastor.  And  then 
with  youthful  step  he  led  the  way  up  into  the  tower  of 
his  new  church.  No  doubt  he  had  been  there  before,  but 
as  we  looked  out  upon  the  magnificent  view  of  the  towns 
and  farms  and  hills  and  vales,  along  which  were  gleaming 
the  waters  of  Long  Island  Sound,  he  spoke  of  the  sight 
with  all  tlie  fervor  of  a  boy.  As  he  stood  there  that  day, 
his  kindly  face  all  aglow  with  delight,  he  left  on  my 
memory  a  picture  which  shall  never  be  dimmed  if  my 
filial  affection  can  keep  it  bright. 

Not  observing  the  chronological  order  of  service,  let 
me  now  speak  briefly  of  Professor  Samuel  Maxwell,*  the 
most  modest  and  gentle  member  of  the  original  Faculty. 
Another  pen  with  filial  affection,  as  I  am  told,  will  de- 
describe  him  so  fully  that  this  tribute  need  not  be  ex- 
tended. He  was  graduated  at  Amherst  in  1829.  He 
came  to  Marietta  in  1833,  and  was  Principal  of  the  Pre- 
paratory Department  of  Marietta  College  till  1855.  Very 
unpretending  in  all  relations  he  yet  inspired  his  classes 
with  a  fine  enthusiasm.  The  feeble  health  of  Mrs. 
Maxwell  defeated  his  purpose  to  go  to  some  foreign  land 
as  a  missionary.  But  as  long  as  he  lived  the  cause  of 
Foreign  Missions  was  highest  in  his  affections.  He 
showed  this  in  various  ways.  He  was  willing  to  educate 
at  least  one  young  relative  for  this  work.     A  portion  of 

*Samiiel  Maxwell  was  born  at  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  March  9,  1804, 
and  died  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  January  24,  1867. 


64 

his  income  was  set  apart  to  this  cause,  and  the  wealth  of 
his  faith  for  a  lost  world  was  constantly  poured  forth  in 
his  prayers  and  social  influence.    It  was  his  ruling  passion. 

He  attended  Andover  Theological  Seminary  two  years, 
as  a  member  of  the  class  of  '32,  but  was  not  graduated. 
In  1836  he  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Athens  to 
preach.  He  was  never  ordained,  but,  with  the  exception 
of  two  years,  from  183G  to  1866  his  name  is  enrolled  as  a 
licentiate  on  the  minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  under 
the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Athens.  He  had  one  power 
as  a  preacher,  in  the  fact  that  no  one  doubted  his  sin- 
cerity. 

In  the  original  Faculty  there  was  no  sweeter  spirit, 
than  this  gentle,  faithful  Christian  man,  teacher,  preach- 
er, and  gentleman.  His  death  occurred  in  1867,  and  was 
such  a  triumph  in  the  serenity  of  his  faith,  the  fearless- 
ness of  his  courage,  and  the  rapture  of  his  hope,  that  to 
those  who  were  permitted  to  witness  it,  it  seemed  as  if 
indeed  in  this  case  pre-eminently 

"  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate, 

Is  privileged  beyond  the  common  walk 

Of  virtuous  life,  quite  in  the  verge  of  heaven." 

Professor  Milo  P.  Jewett*  was  a  man  of  sterner  stuff. 
He  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  in  1828.  He  was  not 
ranked  in  "  the  upper  third  of  his  class  and  as  such 
elected  a  member  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa."  In  that  upper 
third  were  some  able  men,  a  college  President,  three 
Theological  Professors,  a  Chief  Justice  of  Iowa,  a  United 
States  Senator,  and  at  least  two  famous  college  Pro- 
fessors. And  yet  much  of  the  fame  of  that  distinguished 
class  is  based  on  the  achievements  of  three  men  who  did 
not  belong  to  ^'  the  upper  third  " — Edmund  0.  Hovey  who 
helped  found  and  build  Wabash  College;  Caleb  Mills  who 
taught  in  Wabash  College  forty-six  years,  and  especially 


*Milo  Parker  Jewett  was  born  at  St.  .Tohnsbury,  Vt.,  April  27,  1808, 
was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  1828,  Andover  1833,  and  died  at 
Milwaukee,  Wis.,  June  9,  1882. 


65 

who  organized  the  Public  School  System  of  Indiana;  and 
Milo  P.  Jewett  who  was  the  father  of  Vassar  College. 
Seldom  is  any  one  class  so  honored  as  to  have  springing 
up  within  itself  three  such  fountams  of  Christian  in- 
fluence.    Dartmouth's  class  of  1828  has  this  fame. 

Professor  Jewett  came  to  Marietta  in  1833.  His  very 
self  as  I  saw  him  the  first  time  in  1837  is  daguerreotyped 
on  my  memory.  And  whilst  he  at  first  appeared  some- 
what pompous  in  his  manner,  it  did  not  require  much 
time  to  correct  the  impression,  and  in  its  place  to  plant  a 
partial  afi'ection  that  has  never  grown  weak.  He  was 
a  delightful  teacher.  In  the  summer  of  1838  he  was 
baptized  by  immersion  in  the  Ohio  river.  It  was  an  im- 
pressive scene,  no  doubt  causing  pain  to  some  of  his 
associates,  but  so  far  as  I  know  no  one  questioned  his 
sincerity. 

From  Marietta  he  went  to  Alabama  and  won  an  en- 
viable fame  as  an  educator  ol  young  ladies,  and  subse- 
quently returning  north  he  became  the  fortunate  agent 
of  Divine  Providence  in  leading  a  wealthy  man  to  found 
Vassar  College.  He  also  organized  the  institution  and 
became  its  first  President. 

Not  long  before  his  death  it  was  my  privilege  to  visit 
him  in  Milwaukee  where  he  had  been  living  several  years. 
He  was  then  a  beautiful  and  venerable  old  gentleman,  held 
in  the  greatest  honor  by  all  classes  for  the  important 
services  he  had  rendered  as  a  Christian  educator  and  phi- 
lanthropist. I  can  never  forget  that  day's  communion^ 
especially  as  we  stood  on  the  bluff  overlooking  Lake 
Michigan  and  talked  of  the  scenes  long  past,  and  the  men 
who  had  figured  in  them  in  connection  with  this  college. 
He  was  at  that  time  the  only  survivor  of  the  elect  men 
who  belonged  to  the  original  Faculty  of  Marietta  College 
— Linsley,  Smith,  Allen,  and  Maxwell  had  all  ''fallen 
asleep."  In  touching  words  he  recalled  the  years  of  strait- 
ness,  and  struggle,  and  also  of  deliverance  spent  here. 
With  peculiar  tenderness  and  brotherly  affection  he  spoke 


66 

of  his  associates.  He  seemed  looking  at  them  through  eyes 
clarified  by  Christian  charity  so  that  they  were  to  him 
as  ''angels  of  God."  It  was  a  hallowed  and  unusual  priv- 
ilege thus  to  hear  this  good  man  on  whose  face  the  light 
of  heaven  seemed  already  shining  speak  of  the  goodly 
fellowship  of  these  five  men  whose  brotherly  love  had 
been  sweetened  and  ennobled  by  the  experiences  which 
they  had  in  common*  shared.  His  death  occurred 
June  9,  1882. 

The  most  difficult  part  of  this  memorial  of  "  the  Origi- 
nal Faculty"  remains.  Henry  Smith*  and  D.  Howe 
Allen  were  ''  the  David  and  Jonathan  "  of  whom  I  must 
make  as  far  as  possible  a  single  sketch.  The  familiarity 
and  abundance  of  the  materials  are  embarrassing. 

My  first  sight  of  Dr.  Allen  left  an  impression  never  to 
be  eff'aced.  He  was  then  twenty-nine  years  old,  slight  in 
person,  elegant  in  carriage,  and  overflowing  with  cheerful 
humor  and  delightful  speech.  His  fine  face  was  one  that, 
whilst  at  times  shaded  with  sadness,  usually  was 
lighted  up  with  smiles,  but  always  carrying  the  signs  of 
his  manliness,  his  genius,  and  his  goodness.  "  He  had  a 
face  like  a  benediction." 

A  few  weeks  after  the  fall  term  of  1837  began.  Dr. 
Smith  returned  from  Germany.  He  was  regarded  the 
most  brilliant  man  in  the  Faculty.  He  was  its  greatest 
scholar,  teacher,  and  preacher,  so  the  popular  voice  de- 
clared. His  sermon  on  "  The  Fears  of  the  Wicked  Rea- 
sonable "  had  then  a  traditional  fame.  It  seems  only  a 
day  ago  since  one  morning  our  little  chapel  was  in  a  buzz 
of  excitement  as  this  noted  man  took  his  place  on  the 
platform.     I  remember  the  brilliancy  of  his  eyes,  and  the 

*Heiiry  Smith  was  born  at  Milton,  Vt.,  Dec.  15, 1805,  graduated  with  the 
first  honor  at  Middlebury  College  1827,  Andover  Theological  Seminary 
1833,  and  died  at  Cincinnati,  O.,  Jan.  14,  1879. 

Diarca  Howe  Allen  was  born  at  Lebanon,  N.  H.,  July  8,  1808,  gradu- 
ated at  Dartmouth  College  in  1829  with  the  first  honors,  spent  year 
1829-30  at  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  ordained  1838,  died  at  Gran- 
ville, O.,  Nov.  9,  1870. 


67 

interest  that  lighted  up  his  countenance  as  he  looked 
over  the  scene.  I  seem  even  now  to  see  his  right  hand 
nervously  twirling  his  spectacles  in  a  way  familiar  to  his 
old  students. 

He  was  a  "  grand  Puritan."  He  hated  above  all  things 
any  thing  that  hinted  of  drunkenness.  When  very  weary 
with  preaching  one  Sunday  night  he  was  urged  to  take  a 
little  home-made  currant  wine,  he  said,  "  Yes,  I  will  if  it 
won't  burn  blue!  "  and  the  wine  went  on  the  red  coals  of 
fire  to  be  converted  instantly  into  a  blue  flame  extorting 
from  him  in  sharp  staccato,  "No,  thank  you.  nothing  that 
burns  blue!  " 

He  loathed  narcotics  of  all  sorts  and  laziness  alike, 
and  once  said,  quoting  Dr.  Edwin  Hall,  ^'  he  would  if  he 
could,  endow  a  college  free  to  all  comers,  but  he  would 
expel  the  first  man  caught  in  a  lie  or  evading  duty."  In 
fact  he  was  not  a  man  that  indolent  or  mischievous 
students  loved  to  encounter.  Sometimes  his  blows  fell 
tremendously  on  such. 

Dr.  Smith  was  profoundly  moved  by  a  sense  of  duty 
to  do  what  he  ought  to  do  with  his  might.  When  he 
preached  it  was  not  a  question  of  numbers  as  to  how  he 
was  to  preach.  At  Charlotte  he  preached  to  a  dozen 
hearers  on  a  stormy  Sunday,  and  in  the  Newport  School 
House  to  a  hundred  with  an  eloquence,  and  passion  suf- 
ficient for  the  greatest  audiences  on  historic  occasions. 
This  was  due  in  part  to  his  defective  sight  which  so  far 
as  actual  vision  was  concerned  made  all  audiences  very 
much  alike  to  him,  but  especially  to  his  quick  power  of 
putting  himself  into  a  mental  condition  even  when  ad- 
dressing small  audiences  that  brought  before  him  in 
imagination  a  throng  of  interested  listeners,  Perhaps  he 
never  was  more  eloquent  than  when  for  the  first  time  he 
preached  his  famous  sermon  on  -'The  Dignity  of  the 
Christian  Ministry"  before  an  audience  of  two  hundred 
in  the  Harmar  Town  Hall  when  the  late  Dr.  Milo  J. 
Hickok  was  ordained.     He  was  then  as  great  as  when  he 


preached  before  the  American  Board  at  Springfield,  or 
thundered  his  ''God  i^  the  War"  at  Buffalo,  occasions 
when  his  eloquence  attained  a  national  fame.  It  was 
thought  by  some  that  "  Dr.  Smith's  oratory  was 
pitched  too  high  to  last,"  but  the  criticism  was  not  sus- 
tained by  his  ministry  in  the  Newport  School  House,  the 
North  Church  of  Buffalo,  and  the  Second  Church  of  Cin- 
cinnati. To  the  very  last  his  eloquence  was  sustained 
with  extraordinary  power. 

A  careful  look  at  the  oldest  and  also  at  the  most  recent 
portrait  of  Dr.  Smith  suggests  the  truth  of  what  has  been 
asserted  that  he  had  the  conscience  of  "  a  grand  old 
Puritan."  He  would  not  even  accept  Tholuck's  invita- 
tion to  take  tea  with  him  on  Sunday  night.  And  yet 
sometimes  his  fun  was  exquisite  and  his  laugh  infectious. 
And  withal  he  was  as  tender  as  a  child.  I  shall  never 
forget  his  emotion  as  he  came  to  the  chapel  prayers  from 
the  room  in  which  Mrs.  Andrews  had  just  died.  And 
when  ''Mother  Wilson"  died  he  hurried  to  her  house  and 
with  flowing  tears  spoke  of  her  as  one  "  who  had  been  to 
him  as  a  mother." 

The  contrasts  between  his  tenderness  and  sternness — 
qualities  made  perhaps  too  prominent  in  this  memo- 
rial— are  well   defended  in  a  stanza  of  his  own  in  an 

early  poem: 

''  Think  not,  think  not,  the  heart  is  cold, 

Tho'  cold  the  mien  may  be ; 
The  ice-girt  sides  of  Hecla  hold 

A  quenchless  lava  sea." 

Indeed  it  may  be  doubted  whether  he  could  have  been 
the  great  man  he  was  had  he  lacked  these  contrasts.  And 
as  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Allen  this  noble  character  was 
crowned  with  the  most  positive  piety.  They  both 
"walked  with  God." 

Between  these  two  remarkable  men  there  existed  a 
friendship  that  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  was  sundered 
or  even  seriously  disturbed  either  in  life  or  death.  Sonae 
of  you  will  remember  Dr.  Smith's  pathetic  reference  to 


his  sick  and  enfeebled  friend,  Dr.  Allen,  at  one  of  the 
sessions  of  the  Western  College  Society,  at  its  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  in  Marietta,  November,  1868:  "Oh,  my 
brother!  my  earliest  colaborer  in  laying  the  foundations 
of  Marietta  College,  forever  dear  to  my  heart!  Thy  love 
to  me  was  wonderful,  passing  the  love  of  women!  Oh,  my 
brother!  May  God  sustain  and  comfort  thee  in  thy  afflic- 
tion until  thy  tongue  shall  be  loosed  to  sing,  in  the 
realms  of  glory,  the  song  of  redeeming  love! " 

Let  me  run  a  parallel  of  resemblances  and  contrasts 
between  them.  Dr.  Smith  wks  born  in  Vermont  in  1805; 
Dr.  Allen  in  New  Hampshire  in  1808.  Dr.  Smith  was 
graduated  with  the  first  honors  at  Middlebury  in  1827; 
Dr.  Allen  with  the  first  honors  at  Dartmouth  in  1829. 
Both  were  converted  in  college  and  in  consequence  both 
became  "  preachers  of  the  word  "  and  not  lawyers  as  was 
their  original  purpose.  Both  were  forced  by  conscientious 
convictions  to  teach  and  also  to  preach,  and  in  these 
united  vocations  both  attained  great  eminence.  They 
both  studied  theology  at  Andover.  They  both  wrought 
together  at  Marietta  College  and  Lane  Seminary.  Dr. 
Smith  was  the  more  learned  scholar,  but  Dr.  Allen  was 
no  mean  scholar.  In  theology  he  was  great  in  the  divine 
combination  of  '^  a  working  theology  and  a  Pauline 
charity." 

Dr.  Smith  begged  for  both  the  college  and  the  seminary 
but  he  could  not  be  weaned  from  his  books.  He  was 
always  a  scholar.  Dr.  Allen  was  a  great  financier  and 
died  at  the  very  zenith  of  his  powers  exhausted  by  the 
burdens  of  the  impoverished  seminary  which  he  loved  so 
well,  and  which  apparently  but  for  him  would  have  per- 
ished. Dr.  Smith  spent  in  the  service  of  the  two  insti- 
tutions more  than  forty  years,  and  Dr.  Allen  thirty-seven 
years.  During  the  most  of  these  thirty-seven  years  their 
two  lives  flowed  together  in  as  sweet  and  perfect  harmony 
as  two  mountain  brooks,  coming  from  different  fountains 
but  running  together  in  a  common  channel  to  the  sea. 


70 

They  were  very  different  and  very  likely  ''  had  differ- 
ences." The  one  sometimes  resembled  a  gale.  The  other 
was  usually  more  like  a  summer  zephyr.  The  one  some- 
times poured  out  his  convictions  in  torrents.  The  other 
came  commonly  with  influences  as  gentle  as  *'  the  rain  on 
the  mown  grass."  The  one  was  "  John  Boanerges,"  the 
other  "  John  the  beloved  disciple."  Both  were  successful 
in  their  difficult  western  fields  and  several  times  refused 
tempting  calls  to  other  fields.  Their  very  differences 
seemed  to  draw  them  closer  together  in  brotherly  love 
and  in  the  pursuit  of  a  common  and  noble  aim.  And  as 
if  their  Master  and  Lord  would  show  that  charity  is  the 
greatest  of  the  virtues  and  to  endure  forever,  Dr.  Smith 
as  he  grew  older  grew  more  gentle  and  drew  closer  and 
closer  to  the  sweetness  and  John-likeness  of  his  ''  dear 
brother  Allen,"  the  dearest  and  noblest  of  his  friends. 

And  here  you  will  pardon  me  for  speaking  a  few  words 
concerning  the  wives  of  these  five  men.  They  were 
counted  worthy  a  share  in  the  toils,  the  self  denials,  and 
the  successes  of  their  husbands.  I  may  repeat  here 
words  spoken  concerning  the  wives  of  the  members  of 
the  original  Faculty  of  Wabash  College,  but  equally  true 
of  these  Christian  women  at  Marietta. 

"  I  am  sure  no  words  of  mine  can  exaggerate  the  debt 
this  college  owes  to  these  Christian  women.  No  true 
history  of  it  can  be  written  which  does  not  name  with 
profound  admiration  the  wives  of  its  early  instructors 
and  friends.  Their  names  do  not  appear  in  the  catalogue 
of  the  college,  but  they  were  even  as  the  shower  and  the 
sunlight  which  do  not  appear  in  the  yellow  glories  of  the 
wheat  field  and  the  granary.  But  these  silent  and  modest 
forces  as  truly  helped  to  produce  the  shock  and  the  grain 
as  the  more  obtrusive  ploughman  and  ox.  And  so  these 
noble  women  as  really  helped  to  found  and  build  and 
nurture  the  college  in  its  times  of  weakness  and  perils  as 
did  their  husbands.     And  we  may  not  exclude  them  from 


71 

the  royal  fellowship  that  lifted  the  college  from  its  cradle 
to  its  throne." 

Whilst  not  one  of  the  original  Faculty  survives,  two  of 
these  "  elect  ladies"  still  live  —  Mrs.  Smith  and  Mrs. 
Jewett.  And  the  Alumni  of  this  college  on  the  occasion 
of  its  first  jubilee  send  grateful  greetings  to  these  venera- 
ble women,  honored  for  their  own  sake  and  doubly 
honored  for  the  sake  of  the  men  they  so  effectively  helped 
in  laying  the  foundations  of  this  institution. 

And  this  eulogy  is  true  of  other  women  who  helped  in 
the  same  noble  spirit  in  doing  the  same  noble  work. 

The  duty  assigned  me  is  finished.  I  have  had  great 
joy  in  recalling  that  far-off  past  and  the  friends  who  were 
then  living  here.  My  youth  has  come  back  to  me  and  I 
have  been  hearing  again  the  voices  of  those  who  then 
taught  me.  I  have  once  more  seemed  to  be  looking  at 
the  venerable  founders  and  the  members  of  the  original 
Faculty  of  this  College  and  again  to  hear  their  voices. 
Bingham,  Mills,  Cotton,  Moore,  Nye,  Emerson,  and  Put- 
nam ;  Linsley,  Smith,  Allen,  Jewett,  and  Maxwell  ; 
twelve  men,  all  gone  but  one, — tenderly  loved  and 
honored  by  us  all — ^'  serins  in  coelum  redeas!  " 

And  the  most  of  the  noble  women  who  fifty  years  ago 
gave  to  the  new  enterprise  the  inspiration  of  their  faith, 
and  their  prayers  are  also  gone  into  the  heavens.  And 
they  have  been  joined  by  men  and  women  who  with  them 
right  royally  bore  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day.  They 
were  a  goodly  company,  and  of  them  all — these  glorified 
friends  of  the  college — I  may  with  slight  modication  use 
these  words  of  Dr.  Smith  himself  in  his  eulogy  on  Dr. 
Allen  :  "  There  on  the  mount  to  day,  in  the  light  of  that 
blessed  gospel  which  has  revealed  to  us  the  mysteries  of 
the  kingdom  of  redemption,  we  may  behold  them  fellow 
possessors  of  eternal  life  ;  yet  hand  in  hand  gazing  in 
glad  and  open  vision  upon  the  face  of  their  glorified 
Lord." 


72 


The  last  time  Dr.  Smith  preached  in  the  second  church 
in  Cincinnati  on  the  words  "  and  Terah  died  in  Haran," 
he  suddenly  grew  faint,  but  when  he  recovered  he  an- 
nounced the  ^'Jerusalem  Hymn,"  ^*0  Mother,  dear  Jeru- 
salem;" and  the  last  time  he  preached  in  the  Marietta 
pulpit — a  sermon  of  magnificent  power — he  announced 
the  same  ''Jerusalem  Hymn,"  and  many  were  thrilled 
with  emotion  as  he  repeated  with  an  almost  heavenly 
tenderness  the  line, 

"  Oh  God,  if  I  were  there ! " 
as  if  his  very  soul  were  ravished  with  irrepressible  yearn- 
ings to  join  his  friends  who  were  already  within  the  celes- 
tial city.  And  that  one  inspired  line  seems  to  me  to 
gather  up  into  itself  the  aspirations  and  the  fruitions  of 
the  men  who  composed  ''the  Original  Faculty  of  Marietta 
College."  Their  faith  uttered  the  lofty  longing,  "0  God, 
if  I  were  there!"  and  now  they  are  there!  and  shall  be 
forever  there  with  the  Lord. 


ADDRESS  MEMORIAL  OF  RECENTLY  DECEASED 
PROFESSORS. 

BY  COL.  DOUGLAS  PUTNAM,  JR. 


In  accordance  with  the  request  of  the  Committee  of 
Arrangements,  I  have  undertaken  to  gather  some  items 
of  interest  connected  with  the  following  gentlemen,  once 
professors  in  this  college,  now  deceased  :  E.  P.  Walker, 
E.  W.  Evans,  E.  B.  Andrews,  and  George  R.  Rosseter, 
and  present  them  on  this  occasion — and  surely,  gathered 
as  we  are  here,  from  our  several  homes,  dropping  the 
cares  of  busy  lives,  we  can  profitably  spend  a  short  time 
in  recalling  memories  of  those  honored  teachers  who 
have  gone  before,  their  work  finished  here  and  begun 
yonder. 

George  McDonald  says  in  one  of  his  writings  :  "  Let 
us  teach  our  children,  not  that  they  have  souls,  but 
rather  that  they  have  bodies,  which,  when  they  are  through 
with  them,  are  laid  off  as  a  suit  of  old  clothes,  while  they, 
themselves,  go  on  into  that  life,  with  its  work  and  duties, 
provided  for  them  elsewhere."' 

Believers  in  immortality  are  fully  conscious  of  the 
certainty  of  that  life  to  come,  as  we  doubtless  all  are,  yet 
so  fully  do  the  things  that  are  seen  occupy  us,  and  the 
ever  pressing  cares  of  our  daily  lives  envelope  us,  that  I 
think  we  ofttimes,  substantially,  look  upon  those  who  have 
departed  as  really  gone — '^  out  of  sight,  out  of  mind  " — 
and  it  is  but  meet  and  fitting  on  all  proper  occasions  to 
recall  their  memories,  dwell   on  their  lives,  and  learn 


74 

anew,  if  we  can,  the  great  lessons  they  endeavored  to 
teach  us.  So  here,  among  friends,  their  friends,  our 
friends,  let  us  turn  our  thoughts  toward  them. 

Sketches  of  all  of  these  gentlemen  have  been  published 
heretofore  and  I  can  do  little  more  than  to  collate  the 
facts  concerning  them.  The  first  one  of  the  Faculty 
called  away  since  1860  was  Prof.  E,  P.  Walker — who 
graduated  in  1856 — a  man  of  most  remarkable  mental 
strength  and  vigor,  shown  in  all  the  different  relations  of 
his  life.  Coming  from  Ames  township,  in  Athens  county, 
he  adds  one  more  to  the  number  of  strong  and  manly 
thinkers  who  have  made  that  place  almost  historic.  He 
seems  in  his  boyhood  to  have  understood  the  importance 
to  him  of  a  liberal  education,  and  although  seemingly 
dissuaded  from  it  by  his  surroundings,  yet  so  strong  was 
the  impression,  that  after  all  arguments  to  his  father  for 
his  consent  seemed  to  fail,  he  said  that  if  he  could  go  in 
no  other  way  he  would  leave  home  without  his  consent 
and  go  to  college. 

A  way  was  finally  opened  by  what  might  be  called  a 
chance  visit  of  an  uncle,  a  teacher  himself,  by  whose  in- 
fluence and  his  own  evident  determination  an  opportunity 
was  offered  him  of  going  to  an  academy  at  Austinsburg, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  fitted  for  college.  How  strangely 
these  seeming  chances  guide  and  mould  our  lives,  leading 
us  in  ways  we  know  not  of  and  opening  for  us  doors  that 
seem  firmly  closed,  until  a  power  outside  of  ourselves 
and  of  infinite  strength,  opens  them  wide  before  us;  but 
the  condition  of  our  entering  is  that  we  must  first  seek, 
must  knock  and  let  our  wish  to  enter  in  be  known. 

Young  Walker,  after  a  preparatory  course,  came  to 
Marietta  in  1852,  his  mind  undecided,  but  led  here  by 
some  friend  to  see  what  this  college  could  offer  a  seeker 
for  a  solid  education.  His  appearance  is  perhaps  remem- 
bered by  many  present.  My  own  recollection  of  him  is 
of  some  years  later.  I  quote  a  description  of  him  as  he 
then  appeared  :  I  remember  him  well  as  he  sat  in  my 


75 

room.  In  person  tall  and  large,  with  complexion  fair 
and  ruddy,  and  a  general  air,  which,  while  it  did  not  be- 
token rusticity,  was  yet  devoid  of  any  fastidious  grace. 
He  made  upon  me  the  distinct  impression  of  a  young 
man  of  unusual  self-reliance,  who  knew  the  value  of  an 
education,  and  wished  to  spend  the  four  years  of  his 
college  course  where  he  would  derive  the  greatest  ad- 
vantages. Strength,  vigor,  resolution,  manliness  were 
stamped  in  every  feature.  I  saw  in  him  one  who  would 
avail  himself  to  the  utmost  of  the  privileges  offered  by  a 
literary  institution,  who  would  give  no  heed  to  the  seduc- 
tions of  indolence  and  dissipation,  who  in  moral  and  in- 
tellectual character  would  be  an  honor  to  the  college  that 
should  number  him  among  her  alumni.  In  all  respects 
he  fulfilled  this  promise.  He  graduated  in  1856  at  the 
head  of  his  class  and  was  at  once  appointed  tutor.  Some 
here  may  remember  his  valedictory  address  to  the  Trus- 
tees when  he  characterized  the  college  as  *'  our  mother — 
your  daughter.  She  is  young  and  strong — make  her 
great." 

While  in  his  Junior  year  Mr.  Walker  made  a  profession 
of  his  faith  as  a  Christian,  and  after  a  year  as  tutor  went 
to  Andover  and  pursued  a  theological  course.  While 
there  he  pondered  as  to  whether  his  duty  led  him  to  go 
as  a  foreign  missionary,  and  went  so  far  as  to  correspond 
with  the  secretary  of  the  American  Board  in  regard  to  it. 
But  it  did  not  seem  to  be  his  duty  to  go.  .  Those  in  whose 
judgment  he  had  confidence  felt  that  he  was  more  needed 
here,  at  the  West,  than  elsewhere.  Immediately  after  his 
graduation  in  1860,  he  was  elected  by  the  Trustees  of  this 
college  to  the  chair  of  Rhetoric  and  English  Literature. 
In  December  of  that  year,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Bal- 
lard, of  Athens.  In  April,  1861,  he  had  a  hemorrhage  of 
the  lungs,  the  effect  of  which  baffled  all  efforts  to  re- 
cover, and,  gradually  sinking,  he  died  in  December  of  the 
same  year,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven.  In  conversation 
with  a  friend,  a  day  or  two  before  he  died,  he  said; 


76 

While  at  Andover  I  passed  through  a  severe  mental 
struggle.  I  was  a  sort  of  selfish  Christian  before,  with  one 
hand  on  the  world.  I  there  consecrated  myself  anew 
and  found  a  peace  that  has  continued,  though  I  have 
often  had  occasion  to  remember  the  line — ''  Fight  on,  my 
soul,  till  death."  I  am  not  a  Christian  that  prays  and 
communes  much;  I  enjoy  these  things,  I  need  help  about 
them,  though  I  kindle  quick,  too.  Again,  in  answer  to 
the  question — Do  you  trust  in  Christ  ?  he  said  :  Yes  ;  if 
I  should  die  soon,  I  think  I  should  be  saved,  but  only 
through  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  not  through  any  merits, 
prayers,  or  contemplations  of  mine.  An  immortal  spirit 
redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Jesus.  Trust  in  Jesus  is  the 
same  thing  in  death  as  in  life.  These  were  among  his 
last  words — "  Trust  in  Jesus  is  the  same  thing  in  death 
as  in  life." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  greater  difference  between 
men  than  that  between  Professors  Walker  and  Evans — 
the  latter  of  whom  was  appointed  Professor  of  Mathemat- 
ics in  1857.  Coming  here  from  the  State  of  New  York, 
an  entire  stranger,  his  life,  influence,  and  work  will  long 
be  remembered,  not  only  by  those  under  his  instruction, 
but  by  this  community.  Under  seeming  eccentricity,  both 
in  appearance  and  manner,  was  a  deep,  conscientious  pur- 
pose to  do  his  very  best  under  all  circumstances.  Many 
here  can  doubtless  recall  now  that  peculiar,  halting,  hesi- 
tating gait  as  he  came  into  the  recitation  room;  but  once 
engaged,  every  physical  feature  was  overshadowed  by  the 
thoroughness  with  which  he  entered  into  his  work  and 
the  endeavors  to  fill  his  pupils  with  his  own  clear  percep- 
tion of.  the  truth  he  was  trying  to  prove.  "  Oh,  Mr.  So- 
and-so,  how  you  do  rattle!^'  will  be  remembered  as  one 
form  of  expressing  fault  for  lack  of  exactness  in  demon- 
stration and  solution.  Of  few  words,  and  terse  in  manner, 
when  he  did  speak  no  one  could  doubt  his  meaning. 

He  seemed  devotedly  attached  to  his  wife,  who  did  not 


77 

join  him  until  he  had  been  here  for  some  time,  and  we 
well  knew  when  her  daily  letter  failed  to  reach  him. 

His  connection  with  the  college  closed  in  October,  1864, 
his  resignation  being  accepted,  at  his  instance,  by  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee,  partly  on  account  of  his  ill  health, 
chiefly  that  he  might  engage  in  some  business  ventures 
in  West  Virginia.  Here  he  seemed  to  be  singularly  suc- 
cessful, the  quiet,  thoughtful,  plodding  student  develop- 
ing, at  one  bound,  into  the  bold,  keen,'.confident  operator. 
He  appeared  to  be  cautious  and  yet  had  full  confidence 
in  his  own  ability  and  judgm'ent,  the  correctness  of  which 
was  verified  by  the  result  of  his  subsequent  investments. 
But  the  scholar  nature  was  stronger  than  that  of  the  op- 
erator and,  having  gotten  what  to  him  was  a  competence, 
he  spent  nearly  a  year  in  Europe,  chiefly  in  Germany, 
studying,  and,  finding  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge 
pleasant  to  his  taste,  he  accepted  an  appointment  to  a 
professorship  of  the  then  young  Cornell  University,  at 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  whither  he  soon  moved  and  devoted  his 
strength  and  time  to  organizing  that  new  institution.  Of 
the  details  of  his  life  there  a  friend  says:  He  had  talent, 
learning,  hopes,  ambitions.  Of  the  hundreds  who  feel 
called  to  teach,  he  was  certainly  one  who  was  chosen.  To 
ably  fill  a  professor's  chair  calls  for  variety  of  ability  and 
he  was  equal  to  the  demand. 

The  weeks  before  the  beginning  of  the  Cornell  Uni- 
versity were  enough  to  break  the  strongest  men.  They 
represented  days  and  nights  of  toil  to  organize  the  insti- 
tution. There  was  increasing  attention  necessary  to  de- 
tails. He  never  failed  when  weariness  of  body  seemed 
about  to  overcome  the  active  brain.  But  at  last  every- 
thing was  established  on  a  firm  foundation  and  the  suc- 
cess of  the  vast  enterprise  was  an  established  fact.  His 
work  went  on  every  day,  with  no  drawback.  He  knew 
much  and  also  had  the  power,  which  is  often  lacking,  of 
imparting  information  agreeably  and  thoroughly,  so  that 
his  students  easily  reaped  the  result  of  the  work  of  years. 


78 

He  was  not  only  able  as  an  instructor,  but  never  failed  as 
a  disciplinarian.  He  won  the  respect  and  easy  obedience 
of  his  pupils.  He  was  an  untiring  worker  and  presented 
an  example  of  rare  assiduity  in  his  chosen  profession. 
He  was  always  dignified,  yet  not  austere.  He  had  a  spice 
of  humor  which,  when  indulged  in,  was  entertaining,  but 
generally  he  was  silent;  when  he  had  nothing  to  say  he 
said  nothing,  and  thus  proved  that  silence  does  less  inju- 
ry than  weak  word^.  He  found  great  treasures  of  thought 
and  inspiration  in  all  departments  of  learning,  and  while 
the  chair  of  Mathematics  was  his  special  care,  he  was 
familiar  with  various  branches  of  knowledge  and  so  never 
ran  in  a  rut.  He  was  a  genuine  student,  entirely  living 
in  his  books,  and  I  sometimes  think  life,  aside  from  study, 
was  a  little  dull  and  colorless,  because  his  brain  was  over- 
taxed. He  needed  simple  recreation  as  a  relief  from 
study,  and  this  was  distasteful  to  him.  He  gloried  in 
climbing  from  one  height  to  another  in  the  intellectual 
world,  and  many  a  plan  was  laid  for  great  work  which  he 
hoped  would  live  after  he  had  gone.  But  the  body  had 
not  strength  to  sustain  the  pressure;  the  physical  part 
was  utterly  neglected,  till  the  protest  came,  but  it  was  not 
heeded  till  too  late.  While  disease  made  progress  slow- 
ly, painfully,  and  surely,  there  was  no  admission  that  his 
condition  was  realized;  live  he  must.  The  mind  was 
clear.  As  the  vital  power  decayed  the  struggle  to  over- 
come weakness  was  often  pitiful.  The  yearning  for  fame, 
the  longing  to  live  till  the  fruits  of  his  long  research 
should  be  accomplished — all  his  aspirations  and  ambi- 
tions were  in  vain.  At  forty-seven  years  of  age  the  end 
came.  His  intelJectual  power  never  abated.  He  could 
still  organize  and  direct  human  affairs  as  few  could,  and 
his  special  department  received  his  attention  to  the  last. 
He  spoke  wisely  and  well  when  there  was  need,  coming 
straight  to  the  question,  with  no  figures  of  speech,  and 
his  words  had  weight.  He  spoke  tersely  his  convictions. 
But  there  came  a  time  when  his  will  was  powerless  and 


79 

then  he  calmly  gave  up  the  struggle  and  admitted  what 
his  friends  had  seen  surely  coming.  He  laid  down  all 
his  hopes  for  long  and  successful  life  on  earth  and  made 
ready  for  the  end  of  this  and  the  beginning  of  life  etern- 
al. He  passed  calmly,  with  consciousness  to  the  last,  he- 
roic in  the  endurance  of  awful  suffering,  passing  to  his 
God,  with  full  faith  in  One  who  will  certainly  be  near 
when  we  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death 

More  generally  known  to  this  community  and  perhaps 
more  intimately  connected  wtth  this  college  than  either 
of  the  gentlemen  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  was  Prof.  E. 
B.  Andrews. 

Coming  here  in  1839,  from  Williams  College,  which  he 
had  entered  the  year  before,  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Sophomore  class,  graduating  in  1842.  Studying  theolo- 
gy at  Princeton,  he  began  preaching  in  1846,  being  set- 
tled as  a  pastor  in  Massachusetts  for  some  years.  In  1851 
he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  Natural  Sciences  in  Mariet- 
ta College,  entering  upon  the  duties  connected  with,  it  in 
1852. 

Early  in  his  work  here,  he  became  deeply  interested  in 
geology,  and  during  his  life  seemed  intent  on  making  this 
science  one  oi practical  usefulness  to  his  fellow  men.  No 
alumnus  can  forget  the  interest  with  which  these  studies 
were  invested,  and  the  zeal  with  which  he  endeavored  to 
impart  his  interest  in  and  enthusiasm  for  them  to  others. 
Genial,  sociable,  adapting  himself  to  all  surroundings,  he 
was  the  welcome  companion  of  all  those  who  became  ac- 
quainted with  him.  A  vein  of  humor  accompanied  his 
conversation,  while  his  cheerful  sallies  and  pleasant  witti- 
cisms are  remembered  with  pleasure  and  will  remain  as 
one  of  the  pleasant  memories  of  our  alma  mater. 

This  disposition  he  took  with  him  to  the  pulpit.  His 
ministrations  there  were  welcome,  his  descriptive  powers 
were,  perhaps,  flowery,  yet  not  so  much  so  as  to  conceal 
the  truth  he  wanted  to  proclaim,  or  to  weaken  the  influ- 


80 

ence  he  desired  to  exert  for  his  Master's  cause.  Coming 
froni  a  family  of  six  brothers,  five  of  whom  were  minis- 
ters, he  brought  to  the  desk  ability  of  no  mean  order,  and 
ofttimes  presented  his  subject  in  so  novel  a  manner  as  to 
leave  never  to  be  forgotten  impressions. 

At  the  beginning  of  our  late  war,  Prof.  Andrews  en- 
tered earnestly  into  it,  desiring  to  do  his  part  in  those 
days  of  horror  which  seem  now  like  a  vision  of  the  past, 
and  upon  which  we  look  back,  wondering  how  men  such 
as  he  could  drop  study  and  pulpit  and  turn  to  scenes  so 
utterly  at  variance  with  their  tastes  and  training.  Yet 
the  path  of  what  seemed  to  him  duty,  was  easier  to  fol- 
low than  to  shrink  back  from,  and  he  gave  his  talent  and 
services  to  his  country.  His  military  history  is  familiar 
to  most  of  us  and  it  is  hardly  profitable  to  repeat  it  in 
detail.  It  is  known  that  by  his  eff'orts,  in  part  at  least. 
General  George  Crook  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
36th  Kegiment — the  history  of  which  is  a  credit  not  only 
to  this  district,  but  to  the  State — of  which  Prof.  Andrews 
was  Major  and  afterwards  Colonel.  I  doubt  whether  this 
feature  in  his  history  was  fully  appreciated  at  the  time. 
We  can  look  back  now  and,  with  calm,  dispassioned  eyes, 
give  full  credit  where  it  is  due. 

A  letter  from  General  Crook,  dated  at  Prescott,  Arizona, 
May  25,  may  be  of  interest  in  this  connection.  He  says: 
'^  Col.  Andrews  was  one  of  a  class  of  men  which,  fortu- 
nately for  our  country,  were  not  uncommon,  who  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  dropping  at  once  their  civil 
pursuits,  entered  soul  and  body  into  the  war,  and  whose 
fervid  patriotism  and  absolute  devotion  to  country  made 
their  example  of  the  greatest  value.  I  always  had  a  high 
appreciation  of  his  character,  and  during  my  service  with 
him  found  him  able,  willing,  and  eager  to  do  anything 
to  advance  the  cause  in  which  we  were  all  engaged,  no 
matter  how  distasteful  the  details  might  be. 

"  I  have  always  felt  that  his  services  were  not,  perhaps, 
so  thoroughly  appreciated  at  their  true  value  by  persons 


81 

knowing  less  of  his  true  worth,  as  they  should  have  been. 

"  I  need  hardly  say  more,  and  I  cannot  say  less,  than 
that  he  was  a  sincere  patriot,  a  conscientious  soldier,  faith- 
ful and  true  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty,  one  whose 
memory  should  be  cherished  and  whose  example  should 
be  imitated,  not  only  by  the  graduates  of  his  college,  but  by 
all  who  love  and  revere  our  country  and  its  institutions." 

In  1863,  Col.  Andrews,  having  resigned  his  commission, 
returned  to  his  college  work,  where  he  remained  until 
1869,  when  he  resigned  his  chair  to  accept  a  State  ap- 
pointment and  take  charge  of  the  State  Geological  Sur- 
vey, which  occupied  his  time  for  some  years.  In  this  ca- 
pacity he  found  labor  congenial  to  his  tastes  and  previous 
training. 

The  American  Journal  of  Science  says:  "The  State  of 
Ohio  owes  much  to  him  for  his  careful  study  of  the  coal 
deposits  of  Southeastern  Ohio  and  for  other  labors  con- 
nected with  the  development  of  its  mineral  and  geological 
resources.  He  will  have  a  place  in  scientific  history  for  his 
part  in  the  progress  of  American  geology." 

He  was  also  much  interested  in  archeological  investiga- 
tions and  studies.  I  do  not  think  he  had  his  equal,  in 
this  regard,  in  the  State.  In  verification  of  this  estimate 
General  R.  Brink erhoff,  of  Mt.  Vernon,  long  associated 
with  him  in  State  service,  says:  ''In  geology  his  best 
recommendations  are  the  records  of  his  work  upon  the 
Ohio  surveys  and  his  writings.  He  was  in  the  first  rank 
of  American  geologists  and  was  so  recognized  every- 
where, and  nothing  that  I  could  say  would  add  to  his 
fame  in  that  direction.  So  also  as  an  archeologist  he  was 
recognized  at  the  Smithsonian  Institute  as  one  of  the 
most  intelligent  and  accurate  in  America.  If  I  were  to  add 
a  word  anywhere  it  would  be  in  regard  to  his  special  inves- 
tigations in  Ohio  archeology,  to  which  he  gave  a  more  ex- 
tended and  intelligent  research  than  any  other  man,  and 
in  which  he  was,  I  think,  more  deeply  interested  than  in 
anything  else.    To  him,  and  to  Prof.  Read  and  Colonel 


OFTHE 

liNIVERSITY 


82 

Whittlesey,  we  owe  pretty  much  all  that  has  been  pre- 
served of  value  in  regard  to  the  prehistoric  remains  in 
this  State,  and  they  will  always  be  remembered  with 
gratitude  by  all  Ohio  archeologists. 

After  all,  my  own  recollections  of  him  were  more  of 
his  personal  qualities  as  a  man  than  of  anything  else,  for 
he  was,  in  all  respects,  a  gentleman  of  the  highest  type,  a 
genial,  generous,  manly  scholar,  whom  no  one  could 
know  except  to  love." 

Among  the  well  remembered  aphorisms  of  our  venera- 
ble and  esteemed  instructor.  Prof.  Kendrick,  none  have 
made  a  deeper  impression  on  me  than  this — *'  No  man  is 
a  necessity.'^  It  is  of  course  true,  yet  at  times  it  seems 
that  there  is  no  one  ready  to  assume  some  work  laid 
down  by  others;  and  for  what  reason  I  know  not,  but  the 
fact  remains  that  since  the  death  of  Colonel  Andrews 
there  has  been  a  decadence  in  geological  as  well  as  archeo- 
logical  research  in  this  State.  Whether  its  end  was  ac- 
complished during  his  life  I  do  not  pretend  to  say,  but 
that  there  has  been  an  apparent  lessening  of  interest  in 
these  investigations  of  late  years  I  am  sure  will  be  gener- 
ally acknowledged.  His  explorations  reached  into  West 
Virginia  and  Kentucky,  and  to  some  of  us  living  beyond 
your  borders,  have  been  of  interest  and  value. 

He  received  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  from  this  college  in 
1870.  Residing  for  some  years  at  Columbus  after  his  res- 
ignation in  1869,  he  then  removed  to  Lancaster,  where  he 
died  in  August,  1880,  there  seeming  to  be  no  well  defined 
disease,  but,  the  functions  of  life  giving  away,  he  calmly 
passed  over  the  border,  and  all  that  was  mortal  lies  in 
Oak  Grove  Cemetery. 

How  he  would  have  enjoyed  the  exercises  of  this  anni- 
versary! May  he  not  be  one  of  the  cloud  of  witnesses  en- 
compassing us  now?  I  imagine  the  thinness  of  the  veil 
separating  us  from  those  who  have  gone  before  may  some 
day  astonish  us. 


83 

It  is  not  often  we  find,  amid  the  many  men  with  whom 
we  come  in  contact  in  this  rushing,  struggling  life,  one  to 
whom  the  realization  of  the  wish  of  the  Scottish  poet "  to 
see  ourselves  as  others  see  as "  would  bring  unalloyed 
happiness.  Yet  I  ieel  sure  could  this  have  been  granted 
to  Prof.  Rosseter  no  reflection  save  the  Scriptural  admo- 
nition to  "  Beware  of  the  day  when  all  men  speak  well  oi 
thee,"  would  have  followed  the  estimate  presented  to  him. 
So  much  has  been  written  and  spoken  of  him  and  his 
work  by  abler  pens  and  readier  lips  than  mine,  that  it 
seems  almost  like  useless  repetition. 

His  connection  with  this  college  was  of  an  earlier  be- 
ginning than  that  of  Prof.  Andrews,  and  death  found 
him  at  his  post  and  at  work.  Indeed,  I  doubt  not,  hu- 
manly speaking,  but  what  his  life  went  out  as  a  sacrifice 
to  his  devotion  to  work,  so  ready  was  he  to  assume  the 
duties  of  others,  if  by  so  doing  he  could  be  of  service  to 
them  ;  little  thinking  of  any  additional  burden  upon 
himself,  if  in  any  wise  he  could  carry  out  the  example  of 
our  thorn-crowned  King,  who  came  to  ''  minister,  rather 
than  to  be  ministered  unto."  What  his  life  was,  what 
its  influence  was,  I  need  not  speak  of  to  an  audience  of 
his  students,  neighbors,  and  friends. 

One  fact  here  may  be  of  interest  in  indicating  what 
may  come  of  generations  of  educated  men.  Though  he 
rarely  spoke  of  it,  yet  he  dwelt  with  honest  satisfaction 
on  his  ancestry,  deeming  it  to  be  the  only  real,  true 
American  aristocracy — and,  for  that  matter,  any  real 
aristocracy. 

He  was  sixth  in  descent  from  Edward  Rosseter,  of 
Plymouth,  England,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Dorches- 
ter, Mass.,  and  a  member  of  the  first  Governor's  Council. 
Also  of  Walter  Palmer  and  Capt.  George  Dennison,  of 
Stonington,  Conn.  On  his  mother's  side  he  was  descended 
from  Rev.  Nathaniel  Rogers,  of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  also  from 
Elder  William  Brewster. 

His    great-grand-father.    Rev.   Ebenezer  Rosseter,   of 


84 

Stonington,  Conn.,  graduated,  from  Yale  in  1718  ;  his 
grand-father,  John  Cotton  Rosseter,  with  his  two  brothers, 
in  1756  ;  his  father.  Rev.  Dudley  Rosseter,  at  Middle- 
bury  College  in  1813  ;  himself  at  Marietta  in  1843,  fol- 
lowed by  his  three  sons — Edward  in  1870,  Frank  in  1872, 
and  Charles  in  1882,  they  being  the  fifth  generation. — 
Thus  there  was  an  unbroken  line  of  college  graduates,  of 
which  he  was  justly  proud,  and  in  which  he  laid  his 
claim  to  aristocracy. 

Coming  to  Marietta  from  the  famous  Boston  Latin 
School,  entering  as  a  Freshman  in  1839,  he  graduated 
with  the  second  honor  in  1843.  After  an  interval  of  two 
years  he  was  called  back  as  a  tutor,  then  but  twenty-one 
years  old,  yet  so  clear-headed  was  he  and  so  full  of  that 
indescribable  yet  absolutely  necessary  quality  of  the 
successful  teacher,  in  fact  necessary  to  any  success — tact, 
that  he  overcame  all  obstacles  and  was  highly  esteemed. 
Completing  a  theological  course  at  Lane  Seminary  he 
came  to  Marietta  temporarily  as  associate  Professor  of 
Mathematics,  continuing  in  this  capacity  for  two  years. 
After  spending  three  years  in  Buffalo,  W.  Va.,  establish- 
ing there  an  Academy,  he  again  returned  to  Marietta 
where  he  was  at  the  head  of  a  young  ladies'  boarding 
school,  until  this  work  was  broken  up  by  the  destruction 
of  the  building  by  fire.  For  four  years,  subsequently,  he 
was  in  business  in  this  place  ;  but  the  born  teacher  could 
not  satisfactorily  do  anything  else  as  well,  and  in  1862, 
taking  charge  of  the  Marietta  High  School,  he  thus  con- 
tinued until  1864,  when  he  assumed  the  position  of 
Principal  of  the  preparatory  department  of  this  college  ; 
and  after  four  years  of  service  here,  proving  by  his  suc- 
cess his  fitness  for  it,  he  was  chosen  by  the  Trustees  to 
fill  the  chair  of  Professor  of  Mathematics,  where  he  la- 
bored earnestly  and  enthusiastically  for  fourteen  years, 
and  until  called  still  higher  in  the  morning  of  July  27, 
1882. 

Of  his  qualities  as  a  teacher  no  one  who  was  ever  eon- 


85 

nected  with  Marietta  College  need  ask.  I  cannot  do  bet- 
ter than  to  quote  from  one  who  has  in  clear  language 
pictured  this  trait.  *'  He  had  that  peculiar  ease  and  cer- 
tainty of  sight  which  made  him  know  at  a  glance  what 
the  error  was  with  a  student.  This  clearness  was  attended 
by  a  simplicity  of  spirit  which  kept  him  from  reserving 
himself  for  grand  occasions,  for  special  exhibitions  of 
strength.  This  was  heightened  by  his  peculiar  freedom 
of  speech."  He  could  do  that  which  the  born  orator 
must  do — think  on  his  feet,  and  say  what  he  wished, 
when  he  wished  and  as  he  wished.  '*  He  seemed  to  have 
the  faculty  that  few  possess,  of  seeing  the  end  of  his 
sentence  while  still  in  the  beginning  and  of  never  look- 
ing for  the  proper  and  most  fitting  word.  In  this  con- 
sists true  eloquence. 

Or  as  has  been  said,  "  In  the  class-room  his  fertility  of 
invention  supplied  illustrations  from  every  quarter;  to 
dispel  clouds,  to  make  his  subject  stand  our  clear  in  the 
sunlight  to  the  average  student,  was  the  every  day  work 
in  which  he  delighted." 

In  this  work  his  enthusiasm  was  equal  to  his  power  of 
exposition.  It  was  especiaJly  so  in  his  study  of  Astrono- 
my, and  at  those  points  where  devout  minds  see  the  di- 
vine order  his  enthusiasm  kindled.  His  faith  ordinarily 
calm,  chastened,  and  simple,  here  became  glowing  and 
over-mastering,  so  much  so  that  at  times  the  heavens 
seemed  lighted  up  with  divine  glory  and  the  mathematic- 
al room  became  like  the  temple  of  God." 

Such  enthusiasm  bore  fruit  by  its  effects  on  his  stu- 
dents and  the  amount  of  work  he  obtained  from  them. 
Mathematics,  usually  dry,  and  not  especially  attractive, 
under  his  presentation  became  so  interesting  as  to  seem 
to  overshadow  other  studies  equally  as  necessary  and  de- 
sirable. 

His  love  for  young  men,  and  the  desire  to  seek  for  and 
bring  out  the  best  that  was  in  them  was  proverbial.  How 
many  a  homesick  boy  he  took  to  his  home — that  home  so 


86 

full  of  light  and  cheer — and  then  dropping  the  teacher 
and  becoming  the  friend  and  companion,  cheered,  as  well 
as  encouraged  for  the  work  before  him,  has  never  been 
recorded.  How  many  a  young  man  disposed  to  wander 
away  and  not  try  to  develop  his  latent  powers,  he  sought 
out  and  led  to  better  things  has  only  been  recorded  by 
Him  who  remembers  the  good  and  forgets  the  bad. 

After  all — what  is  successful  teaching?  Is  it  to  make 
scholars,  to  stimulate  to  study  alone,  to  send  out  such  as 
we  hope  great  things  from  as  scholars,  or  is  it  to  seek  and 
save  all  who  come  here^  to  search  for  what  is  good,  and 
finding  it  to  encourage  and  cultivate  that,  until  it  shall 
overcome  the  evil,  and  make  for  the  world  a  usejul  man. 
I  have  incidentally  learned  what  seems  to  me  the  key  to 
this  marked  trait  in  the  character  of  Prof.  Rosseter,  and 
that  is  that  he  looked  back  upon  his  own  youth,  and, 
recognizing  to  what  by  the  grace  of  God  he  had  attained, 
he  had  great  charity  for  the  weakness  and  faults  of  the 
undisciplined  character  and  strove  by  all  the  means  in 
his  power  to  lead  rather  than  to  drive,  and  to  inspire  to 
better  things.  Are  we  not  often  prone  to  forget  that  we 
were  once  young,  and  to  set  a  standard  for  those  coming 
on  where  our  mature  years  have  placed  it  and  censure 
them  if  they  do  not  now  attain  to  it  ? 

The  criticism  is  often  made,  and  I  am  not  sure  but 
sometimes  justly,  that  the  scholar  is  so  far  lifted  above 
the  every  day  life  of  men  that  he  loses  sympathy  with 
them,  and  becoming  disgusted  with  what  he  sees  about 
him  in  the  strife  for  place  and  power,  he  withdraws  him- 
self and  lets  the  '*  wide  world  wag  as  it  will,"  while  he 
busies  himself  with  books  and  research.  To  be  a  man 
among  men  is  not,  by  some,  considered  desirable,  but 
with  the  light  under  our  own  bushel,  we  contemplate 
truth,  leaving  the  great  mass  of  men  to  be  guided  by  the 
blind,  it  may  be,  and  when  all  are  in  the  ditch  together 
raise  the  oft  repeated  cry  of  I  told  you  so. 

As  a  citizen,  Prof.  Rosseter  was  not  only  respected  and 


87 

esteemed,  but  his  influence  was  wide  and  far  reaching. 
A  Ufe-long  neighbor  bears  this  testimony  : 

He  was  for  many  years  my  nearest  neighbor  and  no 
man  ever  had  a  better  one.  As  a  citizen  he  faithfully 
performed  every  duty.  Of  decided  political  preferences, 
he  was  always  courteous  to  those  of  opposite  views.  He 
voted  at  all  elections  and  he  always  attended  the  primary 
meetings  of  his  party,  not  alone  for  party  success  at 
elections,  but  to  secure  the  nomination  of  good  men  as 
candidates  and  to  defeat  candidates  whom  he  deemed 
unfit  for  nomination  at  all.  If  all  men  of  similar  char- 
acter and  taste  would  do  likewise,  how  soon  would  our 
political  atmosphere  be  purified,  and  if  any  duty  it  seems 
to  me  is  binding  on  the.  American  citltizen  it  is  to  attend 
the  primary  meetings  and  do  what  he  can  to  secure  the 
nomination  of  good  candidates,  and  prevent  the  nomina- 
tion of  bad  ones. 

In  the  church  of  which  he  was  long  an  ofiicer  and  in  the 
society  connected  with  it,  he  was  ready  to  do  any  work 
assigned  him,  regular  in  /  attendance  at  all  meetings, 
willing  to  lead  when  necessary,  apt  in  remark  and  sugges- 
tion, cheerful  in  following  the  suggestions  of  others — a 
worker  himself  and  always  a  happy  stimulator  of  others 
to  work.  In  the  reading  club,  in  the  magazine  club,  at 
social  gatherings,  at  meeting  of  benevolence  and  charity, 
at  school  associations,  at  teachers  meetings,  his  face  was 
always  seen  and  his  pleasant  voice  and  instructive  words 
were  often  heard,  and  whenever  he  was  called  upon  for 
any  service  it  was  cheerfully  and  promptly  given.  He 
was  a  wonderfully  symmetrical  and  remarkably  useful 
man.  "  Faithful  to  all  trusts"  may  be  truthfulJy  ascribed 
to  him.  But  there  came  a  day  when  the  overworked 
body  gave  way,  and  after  a  short  but  severe  illness, 
friends  told  him  the  end  was  near;  his  reply  was  that 
while  he  regretted  that  he  had  not  done  more,  yet  he  had 
always  tried  to  be  ''loyal  to  Christ."  Thus  laying  his 
services  at  his  Master's  feet,  he  passed  on  into  the  ''rest 


88 

that  remaineth.^'  Yet  in  the  history  of  Marietta  College, 
written  and  unwritten,  he  still  lives. 

Thus  I  have  imperfectly  sketched  the  history  of  these 
four  professors  who  have  gone  before  us.  As  we  pass 
on,  how  rapidly  the  ties  binding  us  here  are  loosened 
and  how  many  of  those  we  love  and  respect  are  in  the 
place  prepared  for  them!  It  is  well  at  times,  to  ponder 
on  this  and  it  is  especially  so  on  this  semi-centennial 
occasion.  It  is  by  no  means  probable  that  any  alumnus 
here  will  witness  its  centennial  celebration,  yet  in  our 
several  places  we  can  do  what  we  can  to  add  to  her  rep- 
utation by  lives  of  usefulness  to  men.  If  there  be  one 
great  want  of  this  time  it  seems  to  me  it  is  of  educated 
Christian  men — I  do  not  mean  educated  men  merely,  but 
Christian  men,  not  theologians,  or  ecclesiastics,  but  broad 
men,  so  filled  with  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  and  so  im- 
bued with  the  sacredness  of  science,  that  they  can,  if 
need  be,  sacrifice  their  own  rights,  for  the  good  of  others; 
and  while  I  am  no  pessimist,  and  am  disposed  to  believe 
that  the  same  hand  that  has  led  us  hitherto  will  still  lead 
us,  yet  that  we  are,  as  a  people,  at  this  juncture  sur- 
rounded by  circumstances  which  give  rise  to  grave 
thought,  will,  I  think,  be  generally  admitted.  I  feel  con- 
vinced that  the  solution  of  these  can  come  alone  from 
this  source,  by  this  agency,  from  trusted  Christian  men, 
who  understand  and  appreciate  both  sides  of  great  ques- 
tions, and  can  cheerfully  accord  justice  to  all. 

Amid  the  sadness  and  mystery  that  in  a  sense  sur- 
rounds us  all,  which  leads  perhaps  to  the  honest  thought, 
if  not  one  spoken,  of  *'cui  bono"— what  is  the  use  of  it  all, 
when  at  times  even  our  best  motives  and  endeavors  may 
be  misconstrued,  or  if  rightly  understood,  may  be  receiv- 
ed with  ingratitude  and  abuse,  it  is  a  consolation  to  turn 
to  Him,  who  commended  even  the  slightest  effort  for 
good. 

These  words  have  often  come  to  me  at  such  times  and 
I  leave  them  with  you.     They  may  strengthen  and  help 


89 

you  to  take  up  life's  burdens  as  they  come — leaving 
what  we  cannot  understand,  until  the  day  when  all 
things  shall  be  made  clear.  There  is  work  for  you,  and 
for  me,  where  there  are  sin  and  sorrow,  and  there  are  sin 
and  sorrow  everywhere. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  0F  THE  PSI  GAMMA 
LITERARY  SOCIETY. 

BY    A.    A.    FERRIS,    ESQ. 


Like  all  great  reforms  and  progressive  movements,  the 
Psi  Gamma  Literary  Soctety  was  the  'outgrowth  of  a 
revolution.  In  the  first  years  of  the  life  of  Marietta 
College  there  existed  but  one  literary  society,  known  as 
the  Phi  Sigma  Society.  This  Society  was  subject  to  the 
supervision  of  the  college  Faculty,  and  had  its  being  by 
the  grace  of  that  august  body.  It  was  against  the  order 
of  things,  however,  that  harmony  should  prevail  in  a 
single  society.  Classes  were  arrayed  one  against  another, 
Freshman  against  Senior,  and  Senior  and  Junior  against 
Freshman.  Discussions  arose,  the  fire  and  spirit  of  youth 
were  aroused  in  opposition  to  real  or  imaginary  grievances; 
rights  were  infringed,  and  hence  the  natural  result — a 
revolt. 

In  the  month  of  October,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine,  the  Psi  Gamma  Society  had  its  birth.  The  founders 
numbered  twenty-six  young  men  whose  names,  embracing 
not  a  few  of  nature's  noblemen,  should  be  held  in  re- 
membrance and  preserved  to  future  generations.  They 
were  :  William  D.  Bailey,  Josiah  Dexter  Cotton,  Theo- 
dore S.  Dana,  Henry  J.  Eager,  John  Ellison,  N.  Fitzhugh, 


90 

Chas.  H.  Goddard,  John  Greene,  Luther  D.  Hill,  John 
H.  Howes,  Frederick  B.  Homes,  Cyrus  Kingsbury,  Daniel 
B.  Linn,  Robert  Lowrey,  Daniel  G.  Mason,  Aleri  A.  Mor- 
rison, William  S.  Nye,  James  Rank,  George  Rogers  Ros- 
seter,  Henry  B.  Shipman,  Chas.  E.  Ramage,  William  B. 
Thomas,  Franklin  Y.  Washburn,  C.  H.  Wells,  and  John 
R.  Wells. 

Of  these  all  graduated  save  six,  and  were  members  of 
the  classes  of  1840,  1841,  1842,  and  1843.  Three  of  the 
founders  became  ministers  of  the  gospel  ;  one  became  a 
professor  of  mathematics  in  Marietta  College  ;  two  were 
physicians  ;  three  became  attorneys  at  law  ;  one,  Mason, 
was  a  publisher  in  New  York  city  ;  nine  followed  mer- 
cantile pursuits  ;  and  two  adopted  agriculture  as  their 
occupation. 

Of  those  who  graduated  all  but  seven  have  run  the 
race  set  before  them  and  joined  the  "  silent  majority." 
Acoording  to  the  latest  statistics,  Daniel  B.  Linn  of  the 
class  of  1840,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Zanesville,  Ohio  ; 
Dr.  J.  D.  Cotton  of  the  class  of  1842,  of  Marietta  ;  Fred- 
erick B.  Homes  of  the  class  of  1842,  of  St.  Louis  ;  Dr. 
H.  B.  Shipman  of  the  class  of  1842,  of  Marietta;  William 
D.  Bailey,  of  the  class  of  1843,  a  farmer  residing  at 
Marietta  ;  Charles  H.  Goddard  of  the  class  of  1848,  of 
Marietta  ;  and  William  B.  Thomas  of  the  class  of  1843,  a 
merchant  of  Marietta — seven  in  number,  survive  and 
furnish  living  examples  of  the  men  who  founded  the  Psi 
Gamma  Society. 

Perhaps  nothing  would  so  much  add  interest  to  this 
sketch,  as  to  give,  in  the  language  of  one  or  two  of  the 
founders,  some  of  the  incidents  immediately  connected 
with  the  origin  of  this  society.     One  of  them  writes  : 

"Before  the  formation  of  the  Alpha  Kappa  and  Psi 
Gamma  Societies,  there  was  one  society  divided  into  two 
divisions.  The  faculty  at  that  time  would  allow  but  one 
society.  *  *  *  The  majority  of  its  members  became 
dissatisfied,  and  one  night,  after  a  big  fight,  the  society  was 


91 

broken  up  and  disbanded.  Between  the  hours  of  one  and 
two  o'clock  that  night,  the  old  fogies,  as  we  called  them, 
got  together  secretly  and  formed  the  Alpha  Kappa  So- 
ciety. They  adopted  their  constitution  and  by-laws  and 
elected  their  officers.  The  next  day  they  exultingly  made 
known  what  they  had  done  and  informed  the  other  stu- 
dents that  they  could  come  and  join  their  society  or  go 
without  one,  as  the  Faculty  had  said  they  would  permit 
but  one  society.  This  left  about  two-thirds  of  the  stu- 
dents out  in  the  cold,  as  the  saying  is,  and  we  concluded 
we  would  see  what  could  be  dane.  We  got  together  and 
formed  the  Psi  Gamma  Society,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  go  before  the  Faculty  and  explain  the  state  of 
affairs.  They  in  their  wisdom  concluded  it  would  be  best 
to  accept  the  situation  and  sanctioned  the  organization 
of  the  two  societies.  At  the  organization  every  student 
had  the  privilege  of  joining  which  society  he  preferred. 
The  result  was  that  about  two-thirds  of  the  students 
joined  the  Psi  Gamma,  so  that  our  societj^  had  at  the  start 
the  largest  number  of  students  and  by  far  the  best  talent. 
We  met  at  that  time  in  the  northeast  room  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  dormitory,  which,  after  the  new  hall  was 
built,  was  turned  into  and  is  now  a  coal  house.  We  at 
once  commenced  forming  our  library  by  each  member 
contributing  money  and  books.  As  the  library  was  kept 
in  the  room  of  the  librarian,  there  was  quite  a  strife  to  be 
librarian,  and  thus  arose  the  great  constitutional  question, 
whether  a  member  of  one  society  could  leave  his  own  and 
join  the  other  society.  One  of  our  members  ran  for  li- 
brarian, but  was  beaten,  and  becoming  dissatisfied,  he 
proposed  to  the  Alpha  Kappa  Society  that  if  they  would 
take  him  into  their  society  he  would  subscribe  fifty  dol- 
lars to  their  library.  It  was  claimed  by  the  Alpha  Kappa 
Society  that  as  he  was  one  of  the  original  members  he 
could  withdraw  from  one  society  and  join  the  other.  The 
matter  was  referred  to  the  Faculty,  and  after  hearing  the 
arguments  of  the  commmittee  from  each  society,  they 


92 

decided  almost  unanimously  that  it  would  be  a  violation 
of  the  spirit,  if  not  the  letter,  of  the  constitution.  So 
the  Psi  Gamma  gained  this  case  and  that  point  remained 
settled  to  this  day."* 

Another  one  of  the  founders  gives  an  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  organization  and  thus  writes: 

"  T  only  remember  what  an  excitement  the  separation 
of  the  two  societies  caused  and  some  little  matters  hap- 
pening about  that  time.  *  *  *  Qf  all  the  dear  old 
friends  of  the  college  who  were  made  Honorary  members 
in  1839,  the  only  survivors  are  Douglas  Putnam,  Esq.; 
Rev.  Addison  Kingsbury;  Prof.  John  Kendrick;  our  be- 
loved President,  I.  W.  Andrews,  and  Erastus  Adkins,  at 
that  time  tutor  in  the  academy. 

I  can  scarcely  recall  anything  connected  with  the  be- 
ginning of  the  library,  only  that  we  every  one  gave  what 
books  we  had  which  we  thojight  worthy  a  place  in  its 
shelves,  and  all  the  admission  money  and  fines  were  used 
to  purchase  more.  It  was  one  of  the  class  of  1842  over 
whose  name  there  was  such  a  squabble,  which  forever 
settled  the  one  important  fact,  that  no  one  could  with- 
draw his  membership  from  one  society  and  join  the 
other.  This  gentleman  is  still  living  in  St.  Louis,  and  I 
well  remember  the  young  ardent  lawyers  from  each  so- 
ciety, selected  for  their  legal  attainments,  who  appeared 
before  the  Faculty  and  argued  this  point.  It  was  well  it 
was  so  wisely  settled  at  that  time.  Luther  D.  Hill,  of  the 
class  of  1842,  pleaded  this  point  and  successfully,  i.  e., 
that  any  member  can  withdraw  from  one  society  as  he 
might  choose,  but  he  could  never  under  any  circum- 
stances join  the  other." 

The  same  authority  continues: 

"  Our  two  societies,  Psi  Gamma  and  Alpha  Kappa  were 
the  first  societies  in  Ohio  that  adopted  the  present  meth- 
od of  choosing  their   members,  that  is,  alternately,  first 


*Dr.  J.  D.  Cotton. 


93 

one  society  selecting  a  student  and  then  the  other.  I  be- 
lieye  that  D.  G.  Mason,  first  president  of  the  Psi  Gamma, 
gave  the  name  to  the  society,  and  Charles  E.  Lindsley,  son 
of  the  first  president  of  the  college,  gave  the  name  to 
the  Alpha  Kappa  Society.  Previous  to  1839  the  only 
society  strictly  literary  in  the  college,  was  the  Phi  Sigma, 
and  out  of  its  broken  fragments  were  formed  the  two 
splendid  societies  that  are  now  an  honor  to  the  college. 
The  disruption  of  the  old  Phi  Sigma  was  in  this  wise, 
as  near  as  I  can  ascertain :  It  seems  that  the  Freshmen 
did  not  choose  to  hand  their  orations  designed  for  public 
exhibition  to  the  Faculty  for  approval.  The  Seniors, 
Juniors,  and  Sophomores  deemed  it  proper  that  the  Faculty 
should  examine  all  such  productions  before  public  exhi- 
bitions. There  was  much  wrangling  about  this,  and 
finally  all  the  members  of  the  higher  classes,  except  two 
Seniors^  held  a  meeting  and  drew  up  a  constitution  to  be 
presented  to  the  Faculty  for  their  approval  for  a  new  society. 
The  lower  classes  and  these  two  Seniors  met  the  same 
day  and  also  drew  up  a  constitution  for  approval  by  the 
Faculty,  and  the  two  constitutions  were  presented  and 
passed  upon  by  the  Faculty  at  the  same  time."* 

Thus  the  two  societies  sprang  into  existence.  And  it 
may  be  fairly  concluded  from  the  testimony  of  these 
two  members  who  were  parties  to  the  organization,  that 
the  Psi  Gamma  society  began  active  life  as  an  organized 
body  of  dissenters. 

The  first  officers  of  the  society  were  Daniel  G.  Mason, 
President ;  Robert  Lowrey  and  Chas.  E.  Ramage,  the  two 
Vice  Presidents  ;  John  Greene,  Treasurer  ;  and  Henry  J. 
Eager,  Secretary. 

It  would  be  both  interesting  and  instructive  to  trace 
the  lives  and  characters  of  these  founders.  But  societies 
and  individuals  are  proverbially  careless  in  the  preserva- 
tion of  history,  and  the  facts  at  hand  are  meager.     Cotton 


*Dr.  H.  B.  Shipman. 


94 

and  Rosseter  were  salutatorians  of  their  respective  classes, 
Howes  and  Nye  delivered  philosophical  orations,  Frank- 
lin Y.  Washburn  delivered  the  Latin  oration  of  his  class, 
which  ranked  as  the  fifth  honor.  Of  those  living,  Doctors 
Cotton  and  Shipman,  Mr.  William  B.  Thomas,  and 
Mr.  Chas.  H.  Goddard,  are  distinguished  and  honored 
citizens  of  Marietta  to-day. 

Of  those  departed  from  life  it  can  be  said  that  all  quitted 
themselves  like  men.  Years  did  not  dim  nor  distance 
efface  the  zeal  and  affection  of  Daniel  G.  Mason  for  the 
society  he  was  so  active  in  founding.  As  a  publisher  in 
New  York,  he  never  forgot  the  Psi  Gamma  Society,  and 
oftentimes  showed  his  remembrance  by  donations  of 
books  to  the  society's  library.  Wm.  S.  Nye  was  a  lawyer 
of  recognized  ability  and  attained  distinction  in  his  pro- 
fession, at  Chillicothe  and  in  Southern  Ohio.  He  was  for 
a  number  of  years  actively  identified  with  the  Marietta 
and  Cincinnati  Railroad,  filling  the  various  positions  of 
Solicitor  for  the  Company,  Treasurer,  Secretary,  Vice 
President,  and  acting  President,  always  with  distinguished 
ability  and  fidelity. 

Luther  D.  Hill  was  a  prominent  clergyman  in  Maine, 
and  died  quite  recently. 

Henry  J .  Eager  was  a  lawyer  of  distinction  in  the  South, 
and  within  a  few  months  past  laid  down  his  armor. 

John  H.  Howes,  a  business  man  in  Chicago,  recently 
died  in  that  city. 

Charles  E.  Ramage  became  a  lawyer  of  ability  and 
prominence  in  one  of  the  Southern  States,  and  he  too 
has  passed  away. 

What  tongue  shall  speak,  or  what  pen  write 
the  full  measure  of  praise  due  to  the  lamented 
Rosseter  ?  First,  an  active  and  ever  faithful  member  of 
Psi  Gamma,  always  prompt  in  attendance  at  the  meetings 
of  the  society,  never  shirking  a  duty,  never  failing  in 
oration  or  debate;  then  out  of  college,  acting  as  tutor; 
later  for  a  time  preaching  the  gospel  of    truth;    then 


95 

Principal  of  the  Academy;  then  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics, beloved  and  idolized  by  the  students — loved  and 
esteemed  by  every  one  who  knew  him.  Who  can  esti- 
mate the  power  for  good  of  such  a  man  ?  Yes,  his  works 
live  after  him,  and  will  continue  to  live,  even  to  eternity. 

It  will  interest  and  instruct  the  one  in  search  of  his- 
tory to  make  a  few  extracts  from  the  life  of  the  society  as 
evidenced  by  the  written  records.  The  minutes  disclose 
that  the  first  question  debated  by  the  society  was  at  the 
meeting  of  March  4th,  1840,  upon  the  question  :  "  Would 
it  he  expedient  for  the  Postmasters  to  be  appointed  by  the 
people  f  "  The  chief  disputants  were  :  George  R.  Rosseter, 
John  Ellison,  Theodore  S.  Dana,  and  Chas.  E.  Ramage  for 
the  affirmative,  and  J.  Dexter  Cotton,  Aleri  A.  Morrison, 
Wm.  B.  Thomas,  and  Daniel  G.  Mason  for  the  negative. 
The  minutes  are  silent  as  to  how  the  question  was  decided. 
But  the  question  that  first  called  forth  the  debating  pow- 
ers of  Psi  Gamma,  in  1840,  is  surely  a  living  and  absorb- 
ing subject  of  thought  to  a  large  class  of  American  citi- 
zens to-day. 

At  the  meeting  of  Dec.  9, 1840,  the  society  was  for  the 
first  time  disputing  over  the  question:  "Is  the  imme- 
diate abolition  of  slavery  expedient?"  Rosseter,  Washburn, 
Goddard,  and  Thomas  maintained  the  affirmative,  and 
Nye,  Morrison,  Waite,  and  Steele  contended  for  the  nega- 
tive. The  question,  according  to  the  minutes,  was  decid- 
ed by  the  president  in  the  affirmative,  but  on  being 
thrown  open  to  the  society  was  decided  in  the  negative. 

As  the  society  increased  in  age,  it  debated:  "  Whether 
the  moral  and  political  course  of  Jefferson  was  commen- 
dable," the  president  deciding  in  favor  of  the  affirmative, 
and  the  society  on  appeal  reversing  that  decision. 

As  long  ago  as  1847,  the  society  was  debating  the  ques- 
tion: "Would  it  be  expedient  for  the  United  States  to 
construct  a  railroad  from  some  point  upon  Lake  Michi- 
gan to  some  point  on  the  Pacific? "  The  question  was 
decided  in  the  negative,  but  it  is  quite  remarkable  that  stu- 


96 

dents  at  college  should  have  debated,  a  third  of  a  century 
before  its  realization,  a  project  of  such  immense  magni- 
tude, both  as  a  question  of  material  development  and  of 
national  civilization. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  give  in  detail  some  of  the 
controversies  that  agitated  the  society  at  different  periods, 
controversies  that  shook  the  society  to  its  foundations. 
One  of  them  was  the  trial  of  Alvan  H.  Washburn  and 
John  H.  Hudnall  for  a  violation  of  the  constitution  in  ad- 
vertising for  sale  certain  of  the  books  belonging  to  the 
library,  without  authority  from  the  society.  It  appears 
that,  as  members  of  the  General  Committee,  they  had 
culled  over  the  library  and  found  some  worthless  books, 
which  they  assumed  to  advertise  and  sell  without  first 
obtaining  authority  from  the  society.  Such  action  could 
not  go  without  notice  and  rebuke,  and  accordingly  Hud- 
nall and  Washburn  were  formally  arraigned  and  tried  on 
three  charges,  Joseph  G.  Wilson  acting  as  prosecutor. 
To  one  of  the  charges,  that  of  acting  without  authority, 
they  pleaded  guilty.  On  the  charge  of  violating  the  con- 
stitution they  were  adjudged  guilty,  by  a  divided  vote. 
Then  a  motion  to  pass  a  vote  of  censure  failed  by  a 
decided  majority. 

At  the  second  meeting  subsequent  to  this  action,  a  res- 
olution was  offered  and  adopted  on  the  motion  of  Mr. 
Campbell,  to  the  effect  that  it  was  the  sense  of  the  society 
that  Washburn  and  Hudnall  had  not  "  acted  from  the 
least  willful  motives,  or  at  all  against  what  they  consid- 
ered to  be  the  wishes  and  best  interests  of  the  society." 

This  was  a  typical  dispute,  and  exhibited  the  character 
of  the  young  men  who  composed  the  Psi  Gamma  Society 
in  its  early  history.  A  principle  was  at  stake.  It  was 
vindicated  in  a  formal,  careful,  impartial  manner.  Par- 
liamentary questions  arose  involving  intricate  points,  dif- 
ficult of  decision  in  the  most  experienced  deliberative 
body.  Then,  lest  a  cloud  should  rest  upon  two  valuable 
members  of  the  society,  on  the  motion  of  a  fellow  mem- 


97 

ber,  justice  was  fully  meted  out  by  the  resolution  acquit- 
ting the  two  members  of  the  committee  of  any  intention- 
al wrong. 

The  library  of  the  society,  from  the  first  meeting  for 
organization  until  now,  has  been  an  object  of  the  most 
earnest  solicitude.  If  the  truth  were  known,  it  would 
reveal  the  fact  that  not  a  few  of  its  members  had  practic- 
ed deeds  of  self  denial  and  inconvenience  in  more  ways 
than  one,  in  order  to  contribute  substantial  aid  toward 
the  increase  of  the  library.  Beginning  with  nothing, 
then  with  a  precious  few  books  that  could  be  placed  upon 
a  small  shelf  of  a  single  book  case,  the  library  has  grown 
to  respectable  proportions  and  great  value,  until,  accord- 
ing to  the  latest  report,  the  number  of  volumes  is  five 
thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  (5320),  or  at  the  rate 
of  115  volumes  a  year,  and  at  the  rate  of  ten  (10)  vol- 
umes and  a  fraction  for  each  member  who  has  ever  be- 
longed to  Psi  Gamma. 

The  records  of  the  society  are  constantly  exhibiting 
the  zeal  of  the  members  in  this  direction.  Early  in  its  his- 
tory (1848)  one  reads  that  a  gold  pencil  was  purchased 
by  the  society  and  presented  to  Charles  Goddard,  Esq., 
for  his  efforts  and  interest  in  behalf  of  the  library. 

In  September,  1856,  one  reads  in  the  minutes:  "Hon- 
orary member  Kendrick  being  present,  he  gave  us  some 
remarks  on  the  library,  exhorting  us  to  be  watchful  and 
diligent, — and  to  make  every  exertion  in  our  power 
to  fill  up  our  library.  A  resolution  was  offered  reading 
as  follows:  Resolved,  That  we  who  are  this  day  present 
do  unanimously  resolve  to  contribute  twenty-five  dollars 
($25.00)  each  to  the  Psi  Gamma  Library  during  the  pres- 
ent year.  Carried.  Yeas  :  Condit,  Catler,  Dye,  Flane- 
gin,  Hubbell,  Kendrick,  Putnam,  Regnier,  Scott,  Wallace, 
and  Williamson.     Nays ." 

Thus  much  space  has  been  given  to  glimpses  at  the 
early  history  and  minor  workings  of  the  society,  because 
in  no  better  or  more  accurate  way  can  one  discover  the  in- 


98 

fluences  at  work  in  the  organization,  and  hence  get  a  true 
conception  of  the  society's  character.  Societies  are  Hke 
individuals,  and  one  must  know  the  forces,  the  controll- 
ing spirit  in  the  one  as  well  as  the  other,  to  form  a  cor- 
rect judgment  as  to  either. 

True  these  extracts  are  taken  chiefly  from  the  early 
records  of  the  society,  but  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  the  la- 
ter records  are  of  the  same  general  character.  They  are 
perhaps  more  trustworthy  than  the  later  records,  because, 
unfortunately,  the  more  recent  records  do  not  appear  to 
have  been  made  and  preserved  with  as  much  accuracy 
and  minuteness  of  detail  as  were  the  earlier  affairs  of  the 
society. 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  Psi  Gamma  Society  was  reg- 
ularly incorporated  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Ohio  in 
the  month  of  March,  1841,  Messrs.  Aleri  A.  Morrison, 
James  Rank,  Luther  D.  Hill,  Frederick  B.  Homes,  and 
William  S.  Nye  being  the  charter  members. 

The  Psi  Gamma  Society,  then,  in  this  semi-centennial 
year  of  the  college,  has  attained  to  the  age  of  forty-six 
years — an  exceedingly  brief  space  when  it  is  considered 
that  in  legal  parlance  a  corporation  never  dies.  But 
when  considered  as  a  Psukoun  Gumnasion — *'  school  for 
the  training  of  minds,"  as  the  name  of  Psi  Gamma 
is  interpreted — it  is  bewildering  to  ponder  upon  the  far 
reaching  effects  of  such  an  association.  The  young  men 
enter  college  and  pursue  their  studies  in  text  books. 
But  who  can  estimate  the  value  of  the  discipline  obtained 
from  a  faithful  performance  of  their  literary  society's  du- 
ties, in  declamation,  oration,  debate,  and  parliamentary 
practice  ? 

During  this  period  of  forty-six  years,  Psi  Gamma  has 
had  altogether  a  membership  of  four  hundred  and 
ninety-five  (495).  According  to  the  most  reliable  data, 
it  is  safe  to  claim  that  two  hundred  and  fifty,  or  fifty  per 
cent  of  those  entering  the  society,  have  graduated.  Their 
occupations  can  not  be  accurately  stated.     Yet  the  statis- 


99 

tics  show  with  reasonable  certainty,  that  of  the  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  graduates,  seventy-five  have  become  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel  or  missionaries  ;  thirty  have  been 
either  teachers,  tutors,  professors  in  colleges,  or  president 
of  a  college  ;  twenty-five  have  adopted  the  practice  of 
medicine  as  a  profession  ;  forty  have  been  lawyers  or 
judges  of  courts  ;  one  at  least,  Eliphalet  F.  Andrews,  has 
become  a  distinguished  artist ;  four  have  been  editors  ; 
while  twenty-five  or  thirty  per  cent  have  devoted  them- 
selves to  agriculture,  banking,  superintending  railroads, 
manufacture,  insurance,  and  the  various  branches  of 
mercantile  pursuits.  It  is  unfortunate  that  no  reliable 
statistics  have  been  preserved  of  those  members  of  the 
society  who  have  not  graduated  or  taken  degrees.  A 
valuable  catalogue  was  printed  in  1861  showing  the  names 
of  all  who  had  entered  the  society  up  to  and  including 
the  year  1860,  but  there  has  been  no  publication  since 
that  date. 

Books  might  be  filled  with  sketches  of  the  lives  of  those 
who  have  gone  out  from  Psi  Gamma's  walls,  but  this 
occasion  will  not  allow  extended  mention.  Perhaps  the 
highest  praise  that  the  future  historian  can  bestow  is  to 
say  of  them  that  all  have  averaged  well ;  that  none  has 
disgraced  the  society. 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  honor  men  have  at  least  not 
fallen  in  the  rear  of  the  non-honor  men,  in  the  race  of 
life,  and  furthermore,  that  those  members  who  were  most 
faithful  in  the  performance  of  society  appointments,  are 
the  ones  who  have  attained  distinction. 

Psi  Gamma  has  graduated  one  United  States  Senator, 
Gen.  Willard  Warner,  of  Alabama,  who  graduated  as  a 
Bachelor  of  Science.  The  lamented  Wilson,  graduating 
with  the  philosophical  oration,  became  a  judge  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Oregon  and  afterward  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from  that  State.  Irwin,  salutatorian,  became  Gover- 
nor of  California.  Follett,  the  valedictorian  of  his  class,  is 
at  present  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio. 


100 

Richard  A.  Arthur  and  Charles  D.  Curtis  were'not  honor 
men  of  their  class  (1849),  but  one  became  Professor  of 
Mathematics  in  Ohio  University,  and  the  other  President 
of  Farmer's  College.  Shedd,  of  the  class  of  1856,  was  the 
salutatorian,  and  has  for  many  years  been  a  missionary 
to  Persia. 

Psi  Gamma  can  fairly  claim  to  have  divided  evenly  the 
college  honors  with  her  sister  society  across  the  way. 
And  if  Alpha  Kappa  claims  to  have  graduated  twenty- 
five  valedictorians,  twenty-five  salutatorians,  and  fifty 
other  honor  men,  Psi  Gamma  will  maintain  that  she  has 
graduated  an  equal  number  of  as  high  rank. 

This  paper  would  be  quite  incomplete  without  a  brief 
sketch  of  Psi  Gamma's  part  in  the  war  for  the  Union. 
Scarcely  a  month  before  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  the 
question  reported  for  debate  in  the  society  was  :  "Resolved 
that  South  Carolina  ought  to  be  be  kicked  out  into  the  ocean.'' 
Soon  thereafter  the  question  :  ^'Should  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy be  speedily  reduced  to  a  state  of  subjection  to 
the  Union  ?"  was  debated  by  Turner,  Beall,  Blymyer, 
Murray.  Wells,  Wilson,  and  Ziegler,  and  of  course  was 
decided  in  the  affirmative. 

The  military  record  of  Marietta  College  in  the  war  of 
the  Rebellion  is  truly  a  proud  one.  No  college  in  the 
land  surpassed  this  college  in  the  per  cent  of  graduates 
and  students  enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  Union  arms. 
And  while  not  detracting  one  word  from  Alpha  Kappa's 
patriotic  record,  for  the  sister  society  furnished  many 
gallant  sons  in  the  same  cause,  yet  Psi  Gamma's  record 
shines  forth  with  peculiar  lustre.  The  highest  military 
rank  attained  by  any  graduate  of  this  college,  that  of 
Brevet  Major  General,  was  gained  by  Gen.  Willard  War- 
ner, a  member  of  Psi  Gamma.  According  to  the  most 
reliable  statistics,  every  soldier  from  the  college  killed  on 
the  field  of  battle  was  a  member  of  Psi  Gamma. 

Taking  them  in  the  order  of  their  classes,  the  first  to 
lay  down  his  life  for  his  country  was  Captain  Lawrence 


J. 113  Ha 

OFTH 


OF 

!^'p■ORN\^, 


101 


Waldo,  of  the  class  of  1853.  Waldo  responded  to  the 
President's  first  call  for  troops,  and  joined  the  Zouave 
Guards  at  Cincinnati,  Captain  J.  G.  Baldwin  command- 
ing, which  became  Company  D  of  the  Second  Regiment 
O.  V.  I.  Within  twenty-four  hours  after  the  call  for 
75,000  men  had  been  telegraphed  to  Cincinnati,  the 
Zouave  Guards  had  offered  their  services,  and  within  a 
week  were  on  their  way  to  the  relief  of  Washington. 
Waldo  took  part  in  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run.  He  be- 
came Captain  of  a  company  in  the  Eighty-third  Regiment 
0.  V.  I.,  in  1862,  and  joined  the  expedition  into  Ken- 
tucky to  check  Kirby  Smith's  advance  upon  Cincinnati. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  various  campaigns,  was  at  the 
attack  upon  Chickasaw  Bluff,  at  Port  Gtbson,  later  at  the 
siege  of  Vicksburg,  and  finally  fell  mortally  wounded, 
April  8th,  1864,  at  the  battle  of  Sabine  Cross  Roads.* 

Next  on  the  roll  of  patriots  is  Captain  Edwin  Keyes, 
an  undergraduate  of  the  class  ol  1854.  In  1860  Keyes 
founded  and  was  at  the  head  of  what  was  known  as  Tup- 
per's  Plains  Seminary,  in  Meigs  County,  Ohio,  an  acade- 
my the  chief  aim  of  which  was  to  prepare  young  men 
for  college  and  train  young  women  and  men  for  teaching. 
In  1862  reverses  to  the  Union  arms  aroused  young  Keyes, 
and  patriotism  and  duty  impelled  him  to  give  up  his 
seminary,  then  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  to  go  to 
the  defense  of  his  country.  He  enlisted  August  12th, 
1862,  and  soon  thereafter  received  a  captain's  commis- 
sion. In  less  than  a  week  from  the  date  of  his  appoint- 
ment, he  reported  in  camp  at  Marietta  with  a  squad  of 
young  men  composed  of  his  pupils  and  neighbors,  in 
greater  number  than  could  be  enrolled  in  one  company. 
Keyes  commanded  Company  B,  of  the  116th  Regiment 
0.  V.  I.  He  and  his  company  participated  in  the  impor- 
tant battles  in  the  ValJey  of  Virginia  until  he  was  taken 
prisoner  in  1863.     On  June  18th,  1864,  while  leading  his 

*See  "Marietta  College  in  the  War." 


102 

men  in  a  desperate  charge  upon  the  enemy's  ranks  near 
Lynchburg,  Va.,  he  was  twice  seriously  wounded,  and  be- 
ing left  on  the  field  of  battle,  he  fell  into  the  enemy's 
hands,  and  on  July  19th,  1864,  Captain  Keyes  died  in 
the  hospital  at  Lynchburg,  Va.,  from  the  effects  of  the 
wounds  received. 

Then  comes  ths  name  of  the  Christian  soldier.  Lieu- 
tenant Timothy  L.  Condit,  valedictorian  of  the  class  of 
1860.  Condit  had  chosen  his  life  work,  that  of  the  min- 
istry, and  was  about  to  enter  upon  theological  studies. 
But  in  the  fall  of  1861,  after  carefully  and  prayerfully 
weighing  the  question  of  duty  in  the  hour  of  his  coun- 
try's peril,  he  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  his  country, 
and  then,  shoul(f  his  life  be  spared,  to  return  and  com- 
plete his  preparation  for  the  ministry.  He  entered  as  a 
private  for  the  three  years'  service  in  Company  L,  1st 
Regiment  of  Ohio  Cavalry.  In  camp  and  in  the  field  he 
acted  the  part  of  a  thorough  soldier.  In  the  month  of 
May,  1862,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Second  Lieu- 
tenant of  his  company.  On  the  31st  of  December,  1862, 
while  riding  his  horse  to  the  front  of  his  company  for 
the  purpose  of  leading  his  men  in  a  charge  upon  the  en- 
emy, and  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight  at  the  battle  of  Mur- 
freesborough,  Lieutenant  Condit  was  shot  and  instantly 
killed.  In  that  admirable  book  of  memorials,  entitled 
"Marietta  College  in  the  War,"  from  which  valuable  col- 
lection many  facts  have  been  obtained,  the  writer  of  the 
memorial  on  the  military  services  of  Lieutenant  Condit 
pays  him  this  tribute  ; 

"As  a  type  of  that  spirit  of  devotion  to  duty  which  re- 
gards not  danger,  of  that  adherence  to  Christian  princi- 
ple which  is  swayed  by  no  influence  ;  and  of  that  patri- 
otism which  rises  to  the  level  of  a  sacred  duty — may  his 
memory  ever  be  cherished  by  the  young  men,  who,  in 
the  coming  years,  may  gather  around  his  alma  mater." 

Next  on  the  roll  is  the  gallant  William  Beale  Whittle- 
sey, of  the  class  of  1861.     Whittlesey,  in  the  fall  of  1862, 


103 

assisted  in  raising  a  company  and  was  commissioned 
Second  Lieutenant  of  Company  F,  92d  Regiment  0.  V.  I. 
He  was  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  under  that  splendid 
soldier,  Gen.  Geo.  H.  Thomas.  As  Captain  of  Company 
F,  Whittlesey  led  his  men  up  the  steep  and  rugged  hill- 
side of  Mission  Ridge,  and  in  the  midst  of  that  memora- 
ble and  sanguinary  battle,  when  near  the  summit  and  in 
the  front  of  the  charge,  a  minie  ball  pierced  through 
his  heart,  and  Whittlesey's  life  blood  flowed  out,  his  last 
words  being  to  urge  his  men  to  go  forward. 

Next  on  this  roll  of  immortal  heroes  comes  the  name 
of  the  talented  George  B.  Turner,  valedictorian  of  the 
class  of  1862.  A  few  short  months  after  graduating  he 
enlisted  in  the  same  company  in  which  Whittlesey  was  a 
Lieutenant.  He  became  Orderly  Sergeant  of  his  compa- 
ny. He,  too,  was  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
with  that  valiant  company  of  Marietta  heroes,  Col. 
Fearing,  Col.  Putnam,  Capt.  Whittlesey  and  Adjutant 
David  E.  Putnam,  and  when  the  latter  was  dangerously 
wounded,  Turner  was  promoted  to  be  Adjutant  of  the 
Regiment.  At  that  terrible  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  after 
Whittlesey  had  been  killed.  Colonel  Douglas  Putnam,  the 
commanding  officer,  had  been  severely  wounded,  and 
lafter  the  summit  of  Mission  Ridge  had  been  reached, 
Adjutant  Turner,  cool  and  brave,  assumed  command  of 
the  regiment,  which  at  that  time  was  shattered  and 
almost  annihilated.  And  while  rallying  his  men  to  repel 
an  assault  of  the  enemy,  Adjutant  Turner  fell  mortally 
wounded,  and  died  from  his  wounds  a  few  days  afterward. 

Theodore  Tupper,  an  undergraduate  of  the  class  of 
1863,  early  in  1861  had  left  college  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
cruiting his  health  and  finances,  and  was  in  Illinois  when 
President  Lincoln's  first  call  for  troops  was  issued.  He 
was  among  the  first  to  enlist  as  a  private  in  Company  H, 
40th  111.  V.  I.  His  marked  talents  and  superior  edu- 
cation drew  the  attention  of  the  officers  of  his  regiment, 
and  he  was  made  Sergeant.     He  served  with  his  regiment 


104 

in  the  fortification  of  Bird's  Point,  and  afterward  in  the 
defense  of  Paducah,  Ky.  The  40th  Illinois  was  ordered 
South  and  became  a  part  of  the  First  Brigade,  Fifth 
Division,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman. 
With  his  regiment  he  was  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  and 
the  narrative  runs  that  on  the  eve  of  the  conflict,  Ser- 
geant Tupper  had  a  presentiment  that  he  should  be  killed 
on  that  battlefield.  On  that  fateful  morning  of  April 
6th,  Tupper,  with  his  regiment  and  company,  joined  in 
the  dashing  charge  of  the  First  Brigade  upon  the  enemy's 
flank.  In  this  gallant  charge  Tupper  received  a  painful 
wound  in  the  arm  and  was  ordered  to  the  rear.  But 
Sergeant  Tupper,  undismayed  and  fearless  in  battle, 
rallied  his  company  in  the  second  charge,  and  while  in 
the  fore  front  of  his  men,  and  in  the  very  act  of  firing,  the 
deadly  minie  ball  did  its  work  and  Sergeant  Tupper  fell 
instantly  killed. 

So,  too,  the  records  seem  to  show  that  every  Union 
soldier  going  from  Marietta  College,  both  graduate  and 
undergraduate,  who  was  wounded  by  the  enemy's  bullets, 
was,  with  one  exception,  a  member  of  Psi  Gamma.  The 
one  exception  was  that  of  Adjutant  David  E.  Putnam, 
an  undergraduate  of  the  class  of  1864,  who  was  severely 
wounded  in  that  historic  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  along 
with  the  other  valiant  heroes  of  the  renowned  92d  0.  V.  I. 

Passing  on,  where  will  history  record  a  more  brilliant 
soldier  or  braver  man  than  the  talented  and  gentle 
Benjamin  Dana  Fearing,  of  the  class  of  1856,  breveted 
Brigadier  General  for  "  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct," 
the  hero  of  many  battles,  who  was  severely  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Chickamauga  and  at  Bentonville,  and  who 
at  the  latter  named  place  saved  Sherman's  army  from 
rout  and  capture  ?  Entering  as  a  private,  he  passed 
rapidly  through  successive  promotions  to  the  rank  of 
acting  Adjutant,  Major,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  Brevet 
Brigadier  General.  General  Fearing  lived  to  fight  the 
battles  of  peace,  and  to  be  a  respected,  admired,  and  be- 


lOS 

loved  citizen,  always  alert  in  serving  his  country,  keen 
to  further  every  reform,  active  and  enthusiastic  in  every 
good  work.  He  has  answered  to  the  last  roll-call,  and 
one  more  capable  must  write  his  biography. 

On  this  roll  of  wounded,  but  not  killed,  is  found  the 
name  of  Col.  Douglas  Putnam,  Jr.,  of  the  class  of  1859, 
the  gallant  leader  of  the  92d  0.  V.  I.,  wounded  and  carried 
from  the  field  at  the  battle  of  Mission  Ridge.  Putnam 
rose  successively  from  the  position  of  First  Lieutenant  to 
that  of  Adjutant,  and  then  to  be  Lieutenant-Colonel  and 
commander  of  his  regiment.  He  lives  to  be  an  honored 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Next  among  these  heroic  names  is  that  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  E.  C.  Dawes,  of  the  class  of  1861.  He  passed 
successively  through  the  several  grades  of  promotion 
from  First  Lieutenant  to  Adjutant,  theii  became  Major  of 
the  53d  0.  V.  I.,  and  was  afterward  brevetted  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  of  U.  S.  V.  Major  Dawes  participated  in  some 
of  the  hardest  battles  of  the  war  ;  among  others  in  the 
battle  of  Shiloh  on  April  6th  and  7th,  and  in  the  battle 
of  Dallas,  Georgia.  At  the  latter  place  he  was  danger- 
ously wounded  and  left  for  dead  on  the  field  ;  but  he 
knew  no  such  word  as  "  surrender,"  and  he  lives  to  serve 
his  country,  his  friends,  and  his  alma  mater. 

The  roster  of  Psi  Gamma  shows  a  long  list  of  graduates 
and  undergratuates,  who  were  neither  killed  nor  wounded, 
yet  who  rendered  valiant  services  on  the  side  of  the 
Union  arms.  Doubtless  they  were  as  heroic  and  fought 
in  as  many,  or,  it  may  be,  a  greater  number  of  battles, 
than  did  those  who  perished  or  were  wounded  in  battle. 

The  historian  must  be  truthful  at  whatever  cost,  and 
Psi  Gamma  must  admit  that  som.e  few  of  her  men  from 
the  South  joined  in  the  Rebellion.  John  H.  Hudnall,  of 
the  class  of  1846,  had  a  brilliant  record,  first  as  private, 
and  afterwards  as  a  Captain  of  the  Richmond  Howitzer 
Battalion.     And  Alfred  S.  Patrick,  together  with  some 


106 

others,  rendered  distinguished  and  heroic  services,  al- 
though in  a  cause  that  was  wrong. 

On  the  roll  of  undergraduates  who  fought  to  preserve 
the  Union,  the  name  of  Daniel  D.  Johnson,  of  the  class 
of  1860,  is  the  most  conspicuous.  He  had  an  excellent 
military  record,  as  Major,  then  as  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
and  then  as  Colonel  of  the  14th  West  Virginia  Infan- 
try. He  was  recommended  by  General  Sheridan  for  pro- 
motion to  a  Brigadier  Generalship,  and  was  severely 
wounded  in  an  engagement  in  the  Shenandoah  ValJey, 
while  in  command  of  a  Brigade. 

Half  a  hundred  soldiers  is  the  grand  total  furnished 
for  the  Union  Army,  from  a  Literary  Society  not  a  half 
a  century  in  existence!  Look  upon  this  galaxy  of  the  Na- 
tion's heroes,  and  see  if  the  blood  does  not  kindle  with 
a  thrill  of  admiration  for  the  heroes  of  Psi  Gamma! 

From  this  imperfect  glimpse  at  her  inner  life,  is  it  not 
manifest  that  the  history  of  Psi  Gamma  Society  is  richly 
worth  preserving?  that  her  example  is  one  that  may  be 
ardently  emulated?  Should  it  not  be  the  jealous  care  of 
every  one  coming  after,  to  guard  faithfully  her  every  in- 
terest, and  see  to  it  that  no  factions,  no  strifes,  no  discords, 
no  elements  hostile  to  the  society's  welfare,  are  permitted 
to  creep  into  her  councils  to  mar  her  fair  name  or  injure 
her  future  record? 

While  it  may  be  that  her  sons  have  not,  like  St.  Paul, 
*'  fought  with  the  beasts  at  Ephesus,"  or  been  beaten  with 
"  stripes,"  or  "  cast  into  prison,"  yet  wherever  you  may 
go, — whether  to  the  missionary  who  has  given  up  home 
and  country,  for  a  self-sacrificing  life  among  the  benight- 
ed heathen,  and  for  the  cause  of  Christian  truth;  or  to 
the  man  in  his  prolession;  or  to  the  one  in  his  field,  count- 
ing-room, or  workshop;  whether  in  war  or  in  peace,  you 
will  find  the  one  trained  in  Psi  Gamma,  manfully  brav- 
ing the  tempestuous  storms  and  conflicts  of  life,  and 
reaping  a  goodly  measure  of  honor  and  success. 


HISTORICAL  ADDRESS  ON  THE  ALPHA  KAPPA 
LITERARY  SOCIETY. 

By  Harry  W.  Nickerson,  Esq. 


Marietta  College  has  never  been  without  a  literary- 
society.  From  the  very  first  her  students  have  been 
alive  to  the  rapidly  growing  importance  of  this  feature 
in  college  life  and  work.  No  feeble  efforts  have  been  put 
forth  and  no  small  sacrifices  made  to  secure  the 
advantages  offered  by  an  association  of  this  kind.  Even 
as  far  back  as  the  days  of  the  old  Collegiate  Institute, 
there  existed  such  a  society,  whose  name  has  been  lost. 
It  was  organized  and  maintained  on  a  small  scale,  but 
served  a  good  purpose  in  its  day  and  died  an  honored 
death  in  1835. 

Its  legitimate  successor  was  the  Philomathesian  Liter- 
ary Society,  organized  to  meet  the  growing  requirements 
of  a  prosperous,  full-fledged  college.  This  organization 
included  in  its  membership  almost  the  entire  number  of 
students  then  in  college,  and,  for  the  sake  of  convenience, 
as  well  as  to  dodge  a  then  existing  college  regulation 
which  forbade  the  existence  of  more  than  one  literary 
society,  was  divided  into  two  divisions.  One  of  these 
divisions  was  called  the  Rho  Eta  and  the  other  the  Phi 
Sigma.  The  members  were  active  and  zealous  in  their 
work,  and  the  society  might  have  enjoyed  a  long  life  of 
usefulness,  had  not  the  spirit  of  dissension  entered  her 
ranks. 

At  all  public  representations  of  this  society,  the  Faculty 


108 

required  the  orations  and  other  exercises  to  be  submitted 
to  them  for  correction  and  approval.  This  obligation 
has  been  imposed  upon  every  literary  society  that  has 
existed  here  since  the  foundation  of  the  college  ;  and, 
with  the  single  exception  about  to  be  mentioned,  the 
wisdom  or  justice  of  the  plan  has  never  been  called  in 
question  during  these  fifty  years.  At  the  time  we  are 
now  considering,  however,  to  some  of  the  younger  mem- 
bers and  to  most  of  the  under-classmen,  this  requirement 
on  the  part  of  the  Faculty  seemed  to  savor  strongly  of 
injustice,  to  say  the  least.  The  older  members  and  most 
of  the  upper-classmen  held  the  requirement  to  be  per- 
fectly fair  and  right,  and  were  "heartily  in  favor  of  meet- 
ing it  in  every  particular.  The  Faculty  also  ruled  that 
all  elections  for  public  exhibition  should  be  made  from 
the  Junior  and  Senior  classes.  The  younger  and  more 
restless  party  insisted  on  the  right  of  the  members  to 
choose  whomsoever  they  pleased.  Other  differences  of 
minor  importance  existed  between  the  two  factions,  which 
had  now  come  to  be  known  as  the  "  Old  Fogies "  and 
''  Young  Americas." 

Thus  matters  went  on  from  bad  to  worse  for  two  years; 
the  breach  already  existing  continued  to  widen,  until  it 
bbcame  evident  that  all  hope  of  harmony  had  faded  away. 

In  November,  1839,  the  last  meeting  of  the  parent 
society  was  held.  The  session  was  a  long  and  stormy 
one,  yet  full  of  intense  interest.  A  final  and  prolonged 
effort  was  made  to  bring  about  an  era  of  good  feeling, 
but  all  overtures  came  to  naught.  Discussion  waxed 
hotter  and  more  violent  and  the  meeting  broke  up  amid 
great  confusion.  Before  the  disruption  came,  an  agree- 
ment to  form  a  new  society  was  Written  out  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  meeting  and  signed  by  a  number  of  the 
conservative  members.  By  midnight  the  whole  matter 
was  arranged  by  a  sort  of  close  corporation  scheme,  and 
the  signers  of  the  agreement  met  in  secret  session  in  Room 
No.  11,  South  Hall  ;  and  here  it  was,  on  the  third  floor 


109 

of  the  old  dormitory  building,  just  as  the  dawn  of  a  new 
day  was  breaking,  that  Alpha  Kappa  was  boun.  A  com- 
mittee on  constitution  was  appointed  and  ordered  to  re- 
port at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

The  first  regular  meeting  of  the  new  society  was  held 
in  the  college  chapel — then  the  two  middle  back  rooms 
on  the  first  floor  of  the  dormitory  building — on  the  even- 
ing of  November  21st,  1839.  Of  this  meeting,  Romanta 
B.  Ford,  now  deceased,  was  appointed  chairman,  and 
Joseph  F.  Tuttle,  now  President  of  Wabash  College,  was 
chosen  Secretary.  The  committee  appointed  at  the  pre- 
liminary meeting,  held  the  night  before,  reported  the  draft 
of  a  constitution,  which  was  approved  and  at  once  trans- 
mitted to  the  Faculty  for  action  thereon,  together  with  a 
request  for  permission  to  form  a  new  society. 

The  "  Young  Americas,"  as  they  styled  themselves,  in- 
cluding most  of  the  members  of  the  Phi  Sigma  division 
and  some  of  the  most  enterprising  students  in  college,  at 
once  took  measures  looking  to  the  formation  of  a  second 
society.  A  secret  meeting  was  held — between  two  days — 
and  a  new  constitution  drawn  up  and  submitted  to  the 
Faculty  for  approval,  together  with  a  request  for  permis- 
sion to  form  a  second  independent  society.  It  so  happened 
that  the  constitutions  of  both  societies  were  handed  to  the 
Faculty  on  the  same  day.  In  each  case  the  request  for 
permission  to  form  a  separate  society  was  granted.  But 
one  change  was  made  in  each  of  the  constitutions  submit- 
ted. This  change  was  in  the  method  provided  for  securing 
new  members.  Instead  of  the  custom  that  had  long  been 
almost  universal  among  American  colleges,  the  constitu- 
tions of  these  two  societies  were  so  changed  as  to  require 
the  new  members  of  the  college  to  be  chosen,  alternately, 
the  first  choice  to  go  to  each  society  every  second  year, 
and  every  member  so  chosen  into  one  society  to  be  pre- 
cluded from  becoming  a  member  of  the  other  during  his 
college  course.  This  plan  has  been  working  admirably 
in  Marietta  College  for  almost  half  a  century;  and,  al- 


110 

though  it  has  some  defects,  yet  none  of  them  are  glaring 
and  it  is  in  every  way  so  much  superior  to  the  old  *'  rid- 
ing "  system  that  its  few  weak  points  are  scarcely  notice- 
able. As  a  historial  fact  this  method  of  choosing  new 
members  has  some  importance,  especially  to  the  friends 
and  sons  of  our  alma  mater;  for  it  was  here  that  this  plan 
was  first  adopted  among  American  colleges. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  senior  society  held  on  the  follow- 
ing evening,— November  22d,  1839, — Chas.  E.  Lindsley, 
son  of  the  first  President  of  Marietta  College,  proposed 
that  the  name  Alpha  Kappa  be  given  the  new-born  child. 
The  significance  of  this  name  is  supposed  to  be  a  secret 
to  all  save  the  initiated.  This  much  may  be  told:  Alpha 
and  Kappa  are  the  initial  letters  of  two  Greek  words 
which  have  an  appropriate  significance;  the  expression 
may  be  found  in  the  first  book  of  Homer's  Iliad.  At  this 
meeting  officers  were  elected  and  a  committee  appointed 
to  draft  a  set  of  by-laws  and  an  order  of  exercises. 

The  third  regular  meeting  was  held  on  the  evening  of 
December  11th.  The  constitution  as  amended  by  the 
Faculty  was  submitted,  and,  after  some  changes  in  minor 
points,  unanimously  adopted.  By-laws  and  an  order  of 
exercises  were  also  adopted, — all  of  which  remain  sub- 
stantially the  same  to  this  day.  At  the  same  meeting  an 
application  for  incorporation  was  drawn  up  to  be  present- 
ed to  the  State  Legislature.  On  the  19th  day  of  Febru- 
ary, 1840,  Alpha  Kappa  received  her  charter  and  became 
a  body  corporate, — from  which  time  it  has  been  custom- 
ary to  date  our  existence. 

During  the  first  four  years  of  Alpha  Kappa's  history, 
the  two  societies  held  their  meetings,  in  alternate  years, 
in  the  College  Chapel  and  in  a  room  on  the  fourth  floor 
of  the  Dormitory, — now  Rooms  31  and  33,  South  Hall. 
In  1843,  the  Trustees  donated  the  use  of  the  two  base- 
ment rooms  under  the  same  building  to  the  two  literary 
societies.  The  choice  fell  to  Psi  Gamma  by  lot  and  she 
took  the  room  at  the  south  end  of  the  building,  (now  the 


Ill 

coal  cellar),  leaving  the  basement  under  the  north  end — 
now  used  as  a  storeroom  for  the  various  utensils  and  tools 
belonging  to  "  Professors  "  Means  and  Robinson — to  Al- 
pha Kappa.  This  apartment  was  fitted  up  neatly  with 
chairs,  benches,  and  tables,  and  was  at  that  time  consid- 
ered a  really  cozy  and  attractive  place;  although,  to  look 
at  it  now,  one  could  scarcely  believe  that  the  genius  of 
literature  and  eloquence  had  ever  been  content  to  dwell 
in  so  uninviting  a  home;  but  so  it  was.  This  seven  years 
war  with  adverse  circumstances,  is  said  to  have  been  one 
of  the  most  pleasant,  interesting,  and  profitable  periods 
of  Alpha  Kappa's  history.  A  member  of  the  class  of 
1847  says  that,  during  his  entire  college  course,  it  was  a 
rare  occurrence  for  more  than  one  or  two  members  to  ab- 
sent themselves  from  a  meeting  of  the  society,  and  then 
only  in  cases  of  urgent  necessity. 

In  1886  the  Middle  Building  was  erected,  but 
it  was  not  until  four  years  later  that  the  societies  were  in- 
formed that  they  could  take  possession  of  the  two  rooms 
set  apart  for  their  use  in  the  third  story.  Lots  were  again 
drawn  and  the  choice  a  second  time  fell  to  Psi  Gamma. 
On  the  first  day  of  June,  1850,  Alpha  Kappa  held  her 
first  meeting  in  the  hall  which  she  now  occupies  and  has 
occupied  continuously  from  that  date.  At  this  time  the 
room  was  entirely  bare  of  furniture  and  carpets,  and  the 
walls  were  of  rough  plastering.  A  movement  was  im- 
mediately set  on  foot  to  furnish  the  hall  and  have  the 
walls  and  ceilings  frescoed.  An  artist  from  Cincinnati 
was  employed  and  in  1852  the  work  of  frescoing  was 
completed.  Since  that  time  but  little  has  been  done  to 
the  walls  except  by  way  of  renewal,  so  that  the  interior 
appearance  of  the  room  is  much  the  same  now  as  it  was 
then.  In  1856  the  work  of  furnishing  the  hall  through- 
out was  finished.  During  these  six  years  the  society  ex- 
pended for  improvements  not  far  from  one  thousand 
dollars. 

Alpha  Kappa  was  unfortunate  in  the   selection  of  a 


112 

hall.  The  position  of  the  bell-tower  immediately  above 
has  rendered  it  impossible  to  prevent  the  roof  from  leak- 
ing during  heavy  storms.  Several  times  the  ceiling  near 
the  center  of  the  room  has  been  almost  completely  ruined 
by  water.  An  examination  of  the  select  records  from 
1856  to  the  present  time  will  show  that  very  few  years 
have  passed  without  there  being  one  or  more  committees 
appointed  to  request  the  Faculty  "  to  fix  the  roof."  The 
Trustees  have  been  generous  in  bearing  a  share  of  the 
expense  of  refitting,  but  nevertheless  it  has  been  a  con- 
tinual drain  on  the  resources  of  the  society  and  has 
crippled  her  efficiency  in  many  directions.  In  1859  one 
of  the  heavy  clock-weights  in  the  steeple  above,  came 
crashing  through  the  ceiling,  and  the  society  was  obliged 
to  hold  meetings  in  the  college  chapel  for  a  few  weeks 
until  the  damage  could  be  repaired.  In  1868  new  carpets, 
curtains,  and  furniture  were  purchased  at  a  heavy  ex- 
pense ;  and,  since  that  time,  nothing  has  been  done  in 
the  way  of  furnishing,  except  to  procure  a  canvas  for  the 
floor,  a  new  heater,  and  such  articles  as  are  needed  for 
ordinary  repairs.  Notwithstanding  the  disadvantages 
under  which  she  has  labored,  Alpha  Kappa  to-day 
possesses  one  of  the  most  handsomely  furnished  and 
tasty  halls  to  be  found  anywhere  among  our  western 
colleges.  It  is  the  admiration  of  friends  and  visitors  and 
the  pride  of  all  her  sons. 

For  the  first  year,  the  meetings  of  the  society  were 
held  on  Wednesday  evening.  In  1841  the  time  was 
changed  to  nine  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning,  at  which 
hour  the  society  has  continued  to  meet,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  months  in  1846  and  two  years  from  1853  to 
1855,  when  the  time  was  changed  back  to  Wednesday 
evening.  The  plan  of  holding  night  meetings  has  been 
thoroughly  tested  on  three  different  occasions  and  has,  in 
every  instance,  been  considered  a  signal  failure.  In  the 
earlier  days  of  the  college,  when  it  was  customary  to 
have   noon   prayers   in  the   chapel,  it  was  often   found 


113 

necessary  to  hold  an  adjourned  meeting  after  dinner,  in- 
asmuch as,  in  a  great  many  cases,  the  literary  exercises 
were  so  full  of  interest  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  reach 
an  adjournment  before  noon.  The  order  of  exercises  is 
so  arranged  as  to  occupy  the  society  until  near  twelve 
o'clock.  However  it  is  not  an,  unfrequent  occurrence  for 
the  time  to  overrun.  There  is  a  record  of  one  meeting 
which  lasted  all  day  and  until  nine  o'clock  at  night. 

Within  a  few  weeks  after  Alpha  Kappa  was  organized, 
steps  were  taken  to  form  a  library.  A  small  fund  was 
raised,  a  few  books  purchased,  a  few  donated,  and  thus  a 
crude  but  creditable  beginning  was  made.  At  first  the 
librarian  kept  all  the  books  in  his  own  apartments;  and, 
in  consideration  of  his  services,  was  allowed  to  room 
alone  without  extra  charge.  For  this  reason  the  office 
became  a  most  desirable  one,  and  the  election  was  hot- 
ly contested  each  year.  Joseph  F.  Tuttle,  who  has  been 
mentioned  as  the  first  secretary  of  Alpha  Kappa,  was  al- 
so her  first  librarian.  The  zeal  that  has  animated  the 
members  in  building  up  the  library  is  highly  commenda- 
ble and  worthy  of  imitation.  The  early  records  show 
that  frequent  and  generous  subscriptions  to  this  object 
were  made,  even  while  the  society  was  struggling  to  fur- 
nish and  improve  her  rooms.  During  one  period  in  the 
late  forties,  it  was  considered  a  point  of  honor  for  each 
student  to  bring  at  least  one  volume  at  the  beginning  of 
a  new  year  as  a  present  to  the  library;  and  we  have  it 
recorded  that  it  was  customary,  even  as  late  as  1860,  for 
certain  loyal  members  to  agree  to  take  charge  of  the  hall 
for  so  much  a  term,  and  then,  after  the  work  had  been 
done,  to  turn  their  wages  over  to  the  library  committee 
to  be  used  in  the  purchase  of  new  books.  John  F.  Fol- 
lett  and  Alfred  T.  Goshorn  might  be  mentioned  as  two 
well-known  and  distinguished  alumni  who  made  such 
liberal  disposition  of  the  money  they  earned  while  acting 
as  janitors  of  Alpha  Kapp*a. 

When  the  society  took  possession  of  her  present  quar 


114 

ters,  the  library  was  removed  to  the  same  room  and  occu- 
pied an  alcove  reaching  from  the  door  along  the  side  to 
the  south  end  of  the  hall.  Here  it  remained  until  the 
completion  of  Memorial  Hall.  In  1871,  lots  were  drawn 
for  the  choice  of  the  two  rooms  in  this  building,  which 
the  Trustees  had  set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  two  societies 
for  library  purposes.  A  third  time  the  choice  fell  to 
lucky  Psi  Gamma.  The  choice  was  one  of  location  merely, 
and  Alpha  Kappa's  want  of  luck  resulted  this  time  to  her 
advantage;  for  her  sister  society  chose  the  sunniest  room, 
thus  leaving  to  Alpha  Kappa  the  best  room  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  books.  The  members  of  the  classes  in  college 
in  1871-72  assessed  themselves  from  five  to  fifty  dollars 
each,  according  to  ability,  and  the  alumni  sent  most  gen- 
erous contributions,  for  frescoing  the  walls,  furnishing 
the  rooms  with  book  cases,  carpets,  etc.  And  it  is  the 
pride  of  the  alumni  of  the  college  that  these  literary  so- 
ciety library  halls  are  the  finest  in  the  West. 

The  library  has  grown  steadily  and  rapidly  from 
the  beginning.  In  1850  the  number  of  volumes  on 
the  shelves  was  765;  in  1860  it  had  increased  to  2207, 
and  in  1870  it  reached  2992;  in  1880  the  catalogue 
showed  an  aggregate  of  4996,  and,  at  the  present  time, 
(1885),  the  society  can  boast  of  a  library  embracing  5816 
volumes  of  the  standard  works  in  fiction,  poetry,  history, 
biography,  science,  art,  and  the  bound  volumes  of  the 
leading  magazines  and  reviews.  Had  Alpha  Kappa  left 
no  other  monument  to  her  history  ^than  this,  it  alone 
would  place  the  stamp  of  well  done  upon  her  work.  The 
value  of  such  a  collection  as  this  can  hardly  be  estimated. 
The  books  have  not  been  secured  without  eff'ort.  Most 
of  them  have  been  obtained  by  direct  purchase,  and  the 
donations  have  been  made  chiefly  by  active  members  and 
alumni — some  of  whom  have  remembered  their  society 
generously  and  affectionately  for  many  long  years. 

The  regular  literary  exercises  of  Alpha  Kappa  consist 
of  declamations,  written  and  extemporaneous  orations, 


115 

criticism,  and  debate.  Of  these  the  debate  has  always 
been  the  principal  feature.  An  opportunity  is  afforded 
everyone  who  wishes  to  take  part  in  this  exercise.  The 
subjects  chosen  are  live  ones  and  usually  bear  upon  the 
topics  of  the  times.  Free  Trade  was  discussed  as  early 
as  1854,  and  in  1856  the  famous  debate  on  the  Nebraska 
Bill  lasted  two  days.  Once  in  a  great  while  the  society 
allows  itself  to  unbend  and  affords  the  members  an  op- 
portunity for  displaying  their  wit  as  well  as  wisdom  in 
debate;  as,  for  instance,  in  early  times,  when  the  subject 
on  one  occasion  was  this:  "  Ought  Ohio  geese  to  be  per- 
mitted to  graze  upon  Virginia  bottom  lands  ?  " 

Since  1840  it  has  been  customary  for  each  society  to 
hold  a  public  representation  sometime  near  the  middle 
of  each  alternate  year — known  as  the  Biennial  Exhibi- 
tion. In  1843  the  first  public  contest  between  Alpha 
Kappa  and  Psi  Gamma  took  place,  and  was  so  successful 
that  it  was  determed  to  hold  one  each  year  some  evening 
during  commencement  week.  This  custon  has  been  kept 
up  without  a  single  exception  until  last  year.  It  has  also 
been  a  custom  for  the  two  societies  to  invite  some  person 
of  distinction  to  address  them  on  the  evening  before 
commencement.  In  1843  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society 
was  granted  permission  to  occupy  this  evening  for  a  sim- 
ilar address  every  third  year.  In  1872  the  two  societies 
decided  to  undertake  the  publication  of  a  college  paper. 
The  College  Olio  has  made  for  itself  no  unenviable  name 
among  the  college  journals  of  America.  It  has  done  the 
college  a  vast  amount  of  good  and  reflected  much  credit 
upon  the  societies  that  have  stood  behind  it.  E.  B. 
Chase,  1873,  C.  A.  Reed,  1873,  and  Sidney  Ridgway,  1874, 
constituted  the  first  board  of  editors  from  Alpha  Kappa. 
In  all  these  various  enterprises  for  the  good  of  the  col- 
lege as  a  whole.  Alpha  Kappa  has  ever  been  found  active 
and  generous  in  her  support. 

In  1844  the  custom  of  giving  diplomas  to  graduating 
members  was  inaugurated.    At  first  it  was  neccessary  for 


116 

each  alumnus  to  pay  for  such  diploma;  but  of  late  years 
they  have  been  bestowed  as  parting  gifts  from  the  society. 
In  1848  the  badge,  which  is  worn  by  all  members  of  Al- 
pha Kappa  who  appear  for  her  in  public,  was  adopted.  It 
consists  of  a  white  satin  rcsette  with  a  silver  star  in  the 
center,  and  has  remained  unchanged  to  this  day.  In 
1859  Alpha  Kappa  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Academy  Literary  Society,  and  presented  that 
body  a  number  of  books  for  the  library,  a  stove,  and  some 
furniture. 

For  the  first  twenty  years  of  her  existence,  Alpha  Kap- 
pa was  practically  a  secret  society;  but,  with  the  advent 
of  the  secret  fraternities  as  factors  in  college  life,  that 
feature  gradually  gave  way  until  her  work  has  now  be- 
come purely  and  wholly  literary.  However  all  non-mem- 
bers are  rigidly  excluded  from  regular  meetings,  and 
there  are  a  number  of  leges  non  scriptae  which  are  unvio- 
lably  observed  and  not  known  to  or  even  dreamed  of  by 
the  uninitiated.  In  1860  the  first  levee  was  held  in  the 
society  halls,  since  which  time  they  have  been  regularly 
thrown  open  to  the  public  at  least  once  a  year. 

Prior  to  the  foundation  of  the  Alpha  Kappa  and  Psi 
Gamma  Societies,  the  college  regulations  permitted  the 
existence  of  but  one  society.  The  wisdom  of  the  change 
is  manifest.  A  generous  rivalry  has  always  existed  be- 
tween the  two;  and,  although  at  times  it  has  approached 
bitterness,  yet  its  influence  has  been  altogether  whole- 
some. Two  such  societies  are  just  as  necessary  to  the 
best  interests  of  both  and  of  the  college  also,  as  two  great 
political  parties  are  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  the 
peace  and  purity  of  our  free  institutions. 
.  The  manner  of  choosing  new  members  has  had  the 
tendency  to  keep  the  two  nearly  equal  in  numbers  as  well 
as  in  other  respects.  The  natural  advantages  of  one  over 
the  other  have  been  very  slight.  It  is  true  that  they  are 
rivals,  but  not  in  the  accepted  sense  of  the  term.  The  reg- 
ulations and  requirements  of  both  are  essentially  the  same; 


117 

and  both  have  the  same  end  in  view,  the  same  purpose  to 
accomplish,  the  same  mission  to  fulfill.  The  prosperity 
of  one  does  not  mean  the  adversity  of  the  other. 

In  referring  to  a  few  of  the  achievements  of  some  of 
Alpha  Kappa's  sons,  I  do  not  wish  to  have  my  words  con- 
strued as  casting  the  slightest  discredit  upon  the  fair  name 
of  any  other  society  or  person.  Far  be  it  from  my  wish  to 
pluck  a  single  jewel  from  the  crown  that  encircles  the 
brow  of  our  sister  Psi  Gamma.  In  her  Alpha  Kappa  has 
found,  in  the  sphere  of  their  common  labors,  a  genial 
companion,  a  loyal  friend,  a^generous  foe.  Some  of  her 
sons  have  been  among  the  best  and  noblest  men  this  col- 
lege ever  sent  out.  A  grand  and  good  work  she  has  ac- 
complished. Let  us  bestow  the  meed  of  praise  generous- 
ly and  unsparingly  where  it  belongs. 

College  honors  are  seldom  bestowed  on  the  undeserv- 
ing; and,  while  the  fact  of  a  student's  having  received  or 
not  having  received  honorable  distinction  while  in  col- 
lege, is  by  no  means  an  absolute  criterion  of  his  success 
or  failure  in  his  college  work,  yet  we  may  safely  say  that 
the  weight  of  probability  is  in  favor  of  this  view  of  the 
case.  In  Marietta  College  it  has  always  been  customary 
to  give  the  valedictory  honor  to  that  member  of  the  grad- 
uating class,  who,  throughout  his  entire  college  course, 
has  maintained  the  highest  average  for  general  scholar- 
ship; and  the  salutatory  honor  to  that  member  who  aver- 
ages second  best.  Of  the  forty-six  valedictorians  who 
have  graduated  since  1840,  twenty-eight  of  them  have 
been  members  of  Alpha  Kappa.  Of  the  forty-five  salu- 
tatorians  who  have  graduated  since  1840,  twenty-four  of 
them  have  been  members  of  Alpha  Kappa.  In  thirteen 
of  these  classes,  both  the  valedictorian  and  salutatorian 
have  been  members  of  Alpha  Kappa.  Since  1878  every 
valedictorian  has  been  a  member  of  Alpha  Kappa.  Since 
the  year  1875,  a  first,  second,  and  third  prize  has  been 
given  to  members  of  the  Junior  class  for  excellence  in 
rhetorical  composition.      Of  the  nine  of  each  of  such 


118 

prizes,  five  firsts,  five  seconds,  and  four  thirds  have  been 
secured  by  members  of  Alpha  Kappa.  Since  the  year 
1871  first  and  second  prizes  have  been  given  to  members 
of  the  Freshman  and  Sophomore  classes  for  excellence  in 
declamation.  Of  the  thirty-two  of  each  of  such  prizes, 
thirteen  firsts  and  eighteen  seconds  have  been  taken  by 
members  of  Alpha  Kappa.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  in 
the  field  of  college  honors,  Alpha  Kappa  has  borne  away 
her  full  share  of  the  laurels. 

Listen  now  to  the  names  of  a  few  of  those  who  have  at- 
tained some  degree  of  eminence  in  business,  professional, 
and  political  circles — all  of  them  now  living  and  each  of 
them  still  active  in  his  sphere  : 

Charles  E.  Lindsley,  son  of  the  first  President  and 
now  a  prominent  clergyman  in  New  York. 

Joseph  F.  Tuttle,  President  of  Wabash  College  and  a 
Trustee  of  Lane  Seminary. 

George  M.  Maxwell,  a  distinguished  clergyman  and 
educator  in  Cincinnati,  a  Trustee  of  Marietta  College,  and 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Lane. 

Ira  M.  Preston,  a  missionary  among  the  wilds  of  the 
^'dark  continent'^  for  twenty  years,  late  Tutor,  and  now 
enjoying  the  rest  of  a  quiet  old  age  after  a  life  spent  in 
the  service  of  his  Master. 

William  H.  Goddard,  a  leading  lawyer  and  business 
man  of  Galveston,  then  of  Washington. 

Henry  A.  Towne,  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
for  Lawrence  County. 

Dudley  C.  Stone,  Assistant  Superintendent  of  the  San 
Franscisco  Public  Schools. 

Henry  S.  Neal,  member  of  Congress,  and  Solicitor 
of  the  Treasury. 

George  H.  Howison,  at  one  time  Professor  of  Logic  in 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  now  Profes- 
sor of  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  California. 

Alfred    T.    Goshorn,    Director   General   of  the   Cen- 


119 

tennial  Exposition,  now  a  prominent  manufacturer  in 
Cincinnati  and  a  Trustee  of  Marietta  College. 

John  F.  FoUett,  late  Speaker  of  the  Ohio  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, member  of  Congress,  and  now  one  of  the 
leading  lawyers  and  politicians  in  this  State. 

David  E.  Beach,  Professor  of  Mental  snd  Moral  Philos- 
ophy and  Rhetoric  in  Marietta  College. 

John  N.  Lyle,  at  onetime  Acting  Professor  of  Mathemat- 
ics in  Marietta  College,  and  now  Professor  of  Mathemat- 
ics in  Westminster  College,  Missouri. 

Rufus  R.  Dawes,  a  brave  soldier  and  officer  in  the  civil 
war,  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  late  member  of  Congress, 
and  now  one  of  the  active  business  men  in  Washington 
County. 

R.  M.  Newport,  a  gallant  officer  in  the  late  war  and 
now  a  prominent  business  man  in  the  great  Northwest. 

J.  H.  Jenkins,  at  one  time  Principal  of  the  Marietta 
Academy,  afterward  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church 
in  Harmar. 

George  R.  Gear,  for  nine  years  Principal  of  the  Marietta 
Academy  and  now  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in 
this  city. 

Wm.  G.  Ballantine,  Professor  of  Greek  in  Oberlin 
Theological  Seminary. 

F.  J.  Cutter,  Judge  of  the  Probate  Court  for  Washing- 
ton County. 

T.  D.  Dale  and  John  Mills,  two  of  Marietta's  rising 
young  business  men. 

M.  R.  Andrews,  now  Principal  of  Marietta  Academy, 
and  one  of  the  leading  educators  of  Ohio. 

0.  H.  Mitchell,  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  Marietta 
College  ; — and  besides  these  a  host  of  others,  both  old 
and  young,  who  have  pitched  their  tents  on  nearly  every 
field  of  human  activity  and  are  winning  for  themselves 
enviable  positions  among  their  fellow  men. 

To-night  Alpha  Kappa  is  celebrating  her  forty-fifth 
anniversary.     As  we  look  back  over  those  years,  crowded 


120 

with  memories  of  college  days,  and  recall  the  old  familiar 
associations,  our  hearts  are  filled  with  gladness;  and  yet  we 
bow  our  heads  in  sorrow  when  we  think  of  the  many  dear 
brothers  who  have  passed  the  portals  of  eternity  and  are 
with  us  no  more.  Out  of  a  tota]  graduating  membership 
of  two  hundred  and  eighty-four,  fiity-five  are  now  sleep- 
ing their  last,  long  sleep.  To  some  the  swift  messenger 
has  come  in  ripe  old  age,  when  life's  harvest  had  been 
gathered  safely  in  and  the  weary  laborers  were  awaiting 
the  coming  of  the  night  of  peace — followed  by  the  eternal 
morn.  Others  again  have  been  cut  off  in  the  bright 
morning  of  young  manhood,  when  the  first  results  of 
their  life  work  gave  such  abundant  promise  for  the  fu- 
ture. For  these — her  younger  sons — Alpha  Kappa  mourns 
with  a  sorrow  that  is  heavy  and  deep. 

Edward  P.  Walker  graduated  in  1856  with  the  highest 
honors  of  his  class,  completed  a  theological  course  at 
Andover,  took  the  chair  of  Rhetoric  and  English  Litera- 
ture in  Marietta  College  and  died  at  the  close  of  his  first 
year's  labor.  Alex.  H.  Washburn,  valedictorian  of  the 
class  of  1857,  died  three  years  after  graduating  while  fill- 
ing the  position  of  Tutor  in  the  academy.  A  funeral  dis- 
course in  his  memory  was  pronounced  by  President 
Andrews  and  his  body  was  followed  to  its  final  resting 
place  by  the  entire  college  and  Faculty.  Theodore  E. 
Greenwood,  valedictorian  of  the  class  of  1859,  and  Charles 
Beman  Gates,  a  member  of  the  class  of  1865,  laid  down 
their  lives  in  the  great  struggle  for  human  freedom  ;  and 
no  altar  was  ever  hallowed  by  a  purer  sacrifice  than  these 
bright  young  lives.  Russell  B.  Brownell,  salutatorian 
of  the  class  of  1861,  went  abroad  in  the  search  of  health 
and  never  saw  his  native  land  again.  He  sleeps  under 
the  shadow  of  one  of  the  great  pyramids,  in  the  far-off 
land  of  Egypt.  E.  M.  Hugus,  1876,  and  E.  N.  Ford, 
1877,  both  young  men  of  bright  promise,  died  within 
two  years  after  graduating.  The  last  death  among  the 
young  men,  and  one  that  has  in  it  a  peculiar  sadness  in 


m 

that  his  life  was  very  closely  connected  with  the  college 
through  his  father,  was  that  of  Winthrop  B.  Hawks,  of 
the  class  of  1878.  He  died  in  Colorado  Springs,  with- 
in the  past  year,  whither  he  had  gone  in  the  hope  of 
building  up  a  constitution  undermined  by  too  close  ap- 
plication to  study.  His  was  a  life  entirely  consecrated  to 
his  profession,  and  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  a 
career  of  distinguished  usefulness  lay  open  before  him. 
He  brought  to  the  work  all  his  powers  of  body  and  mind 
and  always  ready  to  do  anything  and  everything  to  pro- 
mote the  cause  of  religion.  "But  the  Master  had  other 
work  for  him  to  do  and  we  submit  to  the  wisdom  of  Him 
who  "doeth  all  things  well." 

Such  in  brief  are  the  main  facts  in  the  history  of  this 
society  ;  but  Alpha  Kappa  has  a  history  that  can  never 
be  written — which  only  an  eternity  can  unfold.  Here 
within  her  walls  of  sacred  memory  have  begun  influen- 
ces, silent  though  powerful,  which  will  go  on  widening 
into  circles  ever  new  and  ever  increasing  in  number;  here 
have  been  born  aspirations  that  have  found  satisfaction 
only  in  something  higher  and  nobler  than  anything  ever 
dreamed  of  before  ;  here  slumbering  genius  has  been 
aroused  and  goaded  into  activity.  Alpha  Kappa's  history 
has  indeed  been  a  grand  and  glorious  one.  Her  sons 
are  seen  in  almost  every  walk  and  avocation  of  life  ;  her 
banner  floats  over  almost  every  field  of  human  action  ; 
her  power  is  felt  even  where  her  name  is  unknown.  She 
points  with  pride  to  the  record  her  sons  have  made  in  the 
past,  and  hopes  for  still  more  splendid  achievements  in 
the  future  ;  assuring  all  those  who  may  hereafter  enter 
her  doors,  that  the  highest  degree  of  success  in  any  call- 
ing will  come  to  those  alone  who  are  patient  of  toil  and 
faithful  in  the  discharge  of  life's  every  duty. 


The  Claims  of  the  Gospel  Ministry  upon  the 
Christian  Young  Men  of  To-day. 

By  Prop.  William  G.  Ballantine,  D.  D.,  of  Oberlin  Theological 

Seminary, 


And  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  saying,  Whom  shall  I  send  and 
who  will  go  for  us?    Then  I  said,  Here  am  I ;  send  me. — Isaiah  vi,  8. 

This  rose-crowned  month  of  June — the  freshest  and 
brightest  of  the  year,  when  the  sunshine  is  so  long,  and 
the  bird-songs  that  welcome  the  dawn  follow  so  close 
upon  those  of  the  twilight — is  the  appropriate  season 
for  school  and  college  commencements.  Hundreds  of 
young  people,  all  over  our  land,  are  now  finishing  courses 
of  study.  These  June  skies  and  June  blossoms  and 
this  vivid,  leafy  luxuriance  seem  the  harmonious  sur- 
roundings of  pure  youth  and  trained  strength  and  un- 
exhausted vitality  and  unclouded  hope. 

A  college  commencement  —  let  it  be  repeated  fifty 
times — never  can  grow  stale  or  flatly  repetitious.  The 
sight  of  a  graduating  class  in  college  or  high  school, 
never  can  cease  to  be  to  every  thoughtful  man  an  occa- 
sion of  the  very  highest  interest,  exciting  deep  emotions 
of  pleasure  and  solicitude.  Here  are  so  many  new  ven- 
tures in  the  old  field  of  life's  battle.  Here  are  so  many 
new  and  potent  factors  introduced  into  the  world's  history. 
How  much  is  meant  by  the  success  or  failure  of  a  single 
life  !  How  much  of  good  will  to  all  mankind  may  flow 
from  the  career  of  one  of  this  year's  graduates  ! 

Young  men  themselves  feel,  as  the  end  of  their  gen- 


123 

eral  studies  draws  on,  that  a  momentous  crisis  is  upon 
them.  Could  we  look  beneath  the  exterior  of  youthful 
gayety,  we  should  see  many,  of  whom  we  do  not  now 
suspect  it,  passing  through  distressing  and  protracted  ques- 
tionings. The  choice  of  a  life  plan  is  a  solemn  act.  The 
necessity  of  that  choice  must  sober  every  young  man 
who  at  all  apprehends  the  responsibilities  of  education 
and  strength  and  liberty. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  in  a  grand,  free  country,  like 
ours,  and  in  the  complex  civilization  of  to-day,  a  count- 
less variety  of  paths  to  distinction  and  usefulness  present 
themselves.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  attempt  to  balance 
these,  still  less  to  say  a  word  in  depreciation  of  any,  but 
only  to  invite  you  to  consider  several  strong  reasons  why 
Christian  young  men  should  to-day  choose  to  enter  the 
sacred  profession  of  preaching  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Prophet  Isaiah,  two  thousand  six  hundred 
years  ago,  in  that  sublime  vision  of  the  Most  High, 
heard  a  voice  saying,  ^'  Whom  shall  I  send  and  who 
will  go  for  us  ? "  It  was  his  call  to  the  ministry. 
But  there  never  was  a  time  when  there  could  be 
heard  so  deep,  so  many  voiced  a  call  for  men  to  be 
God's  messengers,  as  may  be  heard  to-day.  Any 
ear  that  listens  will  hear  it.  True  a  careless  laugh  may 
drown  it.  The  din  of  traffic,  the  whirr  of  machinery, 
the  click  of  telegraphs,  the  whistle  of  trains, — may  drown 
it.  It  may  not  rise  above  the  loud  debate  of  politics, 
tarilBf  and  finance  and  civil  service  reform.  I  have  been 
told  by  old  soldiers  that  in  the  great  battles  of  the  civil 
war,  when  for  hours  brigades  and  divisions  had  been 
hurled  upon  each  other,  and  the  thunder  of  artillery  had 
rolled  in  continuous  roar, — I  have  been  told,  that  some- 
times there  would  come,  as  if  by  tacit  consent  of  both 
sides,  a  lull  in  the  firing;  and  then  could  be  heard  from 
all  parts  of  the  wide  battle  field  such  groans,  prayers, 
curses,  and  sharp  cries  of  anguish  from  the  wounded  and 
dying  as  no  imagination  can  reproduce.     I  think  some- 


124 

thing  like  that  is  true  on  the  battle  field  of  life.  And  I 
would  say  to  any  Christian  young  man,  eager  to  grasp  the 
glittering  prizes  of  successful  competition,  Stop  a  moment; 
listen  a  moment.  Don't  you  hear  the  cry  of  the  perish- 
ing ?  There  are  millions  of  our  fellow  men  now  without 
hope  and  without  God  in  the  world, — sunk  in  ignorance, 
crushed  under  political  or  spiritual  despotism,  burning 
with  fierce  and  sensual  passions,  diseased  souls  in  diseased 
bodies.  There  are  babes,  beautiful  as  spring  flowers  and 
pure  as  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  beginning  life  to-day 
where  outward  squalor  is  but  a  faint  type  of  the  moral 
corruption, — victims  of  a  sadder  fate  than  that  of  those 
children  of  old  who  passed  through  the  fire  to  Moloch. 

This  cry  of  the  perishing  is  by  no  means  a  single  note 
of  conscious  appeal.  It  is  the  dissonant  confusion  of  a 
godless  world,  in  which  boasts  and  threats  and  curses  and 
great  swelling  words  of  vanity  are  mingled,  and  perhaps 
the  saddest  tones  of  all  to  hear  are  the  jests  and  songs  of 
profane  glee.  But  to  one  who  knows  the  needs  of  hu- 
man hearts  and  the  fateful  issues  of  human  lives,  every 
utterance  of  godless  men  carries  in  it  a  Macedonian  cry 
for  help, — the  wail  of  the  outraged  no  more  than  the  mut- 
tered curses  of  the  Nihilist  or  the  self-soothings  of  the 
Epicurean. 

Whatever  you  do  in  life  must  be  done  in  hearing  of 
this  voice  of  the  perishing.  In  every  quiet  interval  you 
must  hear  it  like  the  deep  moan  of  the  troubled  ocean. 
If  you  win  wealth  and  furnish  a  mansion  in  splendor, 
you  will  hear  it  as  you  recline  on  your  silken  cushions. 
If  you  win  a  laurel  crown  of  fame,  between  the  acclama- 
tions of  the  mulitude,  you  will  hear  the  voice  of  the  per- 
ishitig.  Our  Savior  heard  that  cry  in  heaven.  He  heard 
it  in  the  pauses  of  the  angelic  melodies:  He  heard  it  be- 
tween the  Holy,  holy,  holy,  of  the  adoring  seraphim.  He 
could  not  stay  in  heaven  and  hear  that.  And  so  from 
the  bright  throne  of  God,  from  the  eternal  glory,  from 
the  shining  companies  of  the  sinless,  he  came  to  pover- 


125 

ty,  and  weariness,  and  tears,  and  maligant  ingratitude,  to 
serve  where  he  had  a  right  to  command,  and  to  give,  up- 
on the  shameful  cross,  his  life  a  ransom  for  many. 

By  his  birth  from  a  virgin,  by  his  wonderful  works,  by 
his  gracious  words,  and  by  his  sorrow  and  sacrificial  death 
upon  the  cross,  our  Lord  provided  a  perfect  remedy  for 
all  human  woes.  There  is  one  balm  for  all  aching  hearts; 
one  light  for  every -joyless  home;  one  fountain  of  cleans- 
ing for  all  the  defiled.  One  thing  is  needed  by  the  young 
and  strong  just  beginning  life,  one  by  the  tempted  and 
fallen;  one  by  the  faint  and  dying  just  stepping  down 
into  the  dark  river.  Wherever  you  find  a  human  soul,  one 
thing  is  needful;  and  that  is  the  gospel  of  Christ.  And 
that  gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one 
that  believeth.  In  Africa,  in  China,  in  Japan,  in  Turkey, 
in  the  Pacific  Islands,  in  Utah,  in  Ohio, — men  of  every 
race  can  understand  it,  can  accept  it,  can  by  its  power 
pass  from  darkness  to  light,  from  death  to  life,  and  from 
the  power  of  Satan  unto  God.  There  never  has  been 
discovered  on  the  remotest  coasts  a  race  of  men  to  whom 
the  gospel  could  not  be  made  intelligible,  or  who  could 
not  be  renewed  by  its  efficiency.  In  the  exercise  of  su- 
preme wisdom  it  has  pleased  God  that  the  knowledge  of 
this  salvation  should  be  disseminated  throughout  the 
world  and  its  acceptance  urged  upon  individual  hearts, 
not  by  the  personal  presence  of  the  Savior  himself,  nor 
by  the  ministry  of  angels,  but  by  the  agency  of  saved 
men.  The  words,  ''  Go  yQ  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  are  what  the  illustrious 
soldier,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  called  'Hhe  marching 
orders  of  the  church."  The  full  execution  of  this  com- 
mand has  become  in  our  day  for  the  first  time  easily 
practicable.  By  the  astonishing  progress  of  invention  in 
the  means  of  transportation  and  communication,  there  is 
now  a  real  ^'  federation  of  the  world."  Railways  and 
steam-ship  lines  grow  across  the  globe  like  summer  vines. 
By  missionary  zeal,  by  the  curiosity  of  science,  by  the 


126 

greed  of  trade,  by  internal  revolution  and  by  external 
attack,  by  justice  and  by  injustice,  eveiy  land  is  now  laid 
open.  A  generation  ago  there  were  millions  of  people 
who  could  not  be  reached  in  any  ordinary  way  with  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  To-day  nothing  prevents  our  carrying 
it  to  the  heart  of  Africa  or  to  the  heart  of  China,  to  the 
Blacks  of  the  South,  to  the  Red  men  of  the  West, — 
nothing  but  our  own  indifference  to  their  misery  and  to 
our  Savior's  desire. 

This  present  time  seems  to  be  a  moral  crisis  in  all  parts 
of  the  world.  It  is  so  in  our  own  country.  Millions  of 
foreigners,  impatient  of  the  blood  and  iron  regime  of 
Europe,  have  come  among  us,  to  escape  military  service 
and  unequal  laws.  Embittered  against  church  and  state 
by  ancient  wrongs,  exhilarated  with  their  new  freedom, 
whose  necessary  safeguards  they  have  not  yet  perceived, 
they  are  filling  up  our  New  West.  Upon  the  decision 
of  the  question  whether  the  foundations  of  society  in 
those  new  empires  shall  be  laid  in  socialism,  materialism, 
Mormonism,  Sabbath-breaking,  betting,  drinking,  or,  like 
the  foundations  of  New  England,  in  Christian  faith, — 
upon  the  decision  of  that  question  must  depend  the  his- 
tory of  our  country  in  the  coming  centuries.  Now  I  have 
not  thought  it  necessary  to  weary  you  with  statistics;  but 
we  all  know  that  to  supply  these  new^  western  communi- 
ties with  preachers  of  the  gospel  would  require  us  at  once 
to  multiply  the  number  of  young  men  in  training  for  the 
ministry  at  least  by  ten. 

Nothing  in  history  reads  more  like  a  story  of  enchant- 
ment than  the  bald  record  of  recent  changes  in  the  em- 
pire of  Japan.  Within  a  single  generation  we  have  seen 
that  people  transformed  from  the  most  repellent  to  the 
most  receptive,  from  the  most  secluded  to  the  most  social 
of  all.  In  their  own  country  or  scattered  over  America 
and  Europe,  hundreds  of  young  Japanese  with  intellect- 
ual powers  of  the  highest  order  are  appropriating  the 
treasures  of   Western   civilization.      But  such  intense 


127 

avidity  must  after  awhile  come  to  a  natural  end.  The 
Japanese  will  soon  have  learned  what  we  have  to  teach, 
and  will  have  settled  their  relations  to  our  opinions.  In 
a  few  years  they  will  have  decided  whether  as  a  nation  to 
accept  or  reject  Christianity.  If  we  can  now  impress  up- 
on the  eager,  receptive,  docile  minds  of  their  splendid 
young  nation,  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ,  Japan  will  be 
saved.  But  there  is  «only  a  handful  of  missionaries  in 
Japan  to  strike  now  while  the  iron  is  hot. 

The  Turkish  empire  is  also  at  a  critical  point.  How 
much  longer  the  skeleton  fingers  of  Ottoman  supremacy 
can  hold  the  throat  of  the  native  populations  of  the  orig- 
inal seats  of  science,  art,  and  religion,  we  cannot  tell.  But 
at  longest,  that  time  must  be  short.  When  the  infamy  of 
Turkish  rule  crumbles,  shall  there  be  healthy  moral  fibre 
among  those  now  down-trodden,  out  of  which  to  rear  a 
stable  and  progressive  social  fabric?  That  depends  upon 
the  pervasiveness  and  thoroughness  of  what  Christian 
missionaries  are  now  doing.  When,  a  few  years  since, 
Bulgaria's  long  hoped-for  hour  of  autonomy  came,  noth- 
ing but  the  presence  of  Bulgarian  young  men  educated 
in  the  American  Robert  College  at  Constantinople  is  said 
to  have  rendered  a  successful  issue  of  that  experiment  pos- 
sible. 

In  Africa,  a  new  state  has  just  been  founded,  under 
such  propitious  auspices  as  never  before  smiled  upon  the 
birth  of  a  state.  A  vast  basin  of  incalculable  fertility, 
peopled  by  millions  of  heathen,  is,  without  their  knowl- 
edge, taken  under  the  protection  of  the  great  powers  of  the 
civilized  world,  not  as  Mexico  or  Peru  were  taken  by 
rapacious  Spain,  but  in  the  interest  of  mankind.  The 
safety  of  commerce,  and  the  freedom  of  religion  are  guar- 
anteed. Lines  of  communication  are  projected,  doors 
opened  wide,  and  civilization  invited  to  enter.  But  we 
must  remember  that  contact  with  civilization,  without  the 
gospel,  means  ruin  to  those  native  populations.  It  is  for 
the  church  of  Christ  to  hasten  to  them  at  once  with  the 


128 

shield  of  faith  and  the  helmet  of  salvation.  Within  a 
few  months  I  have  enjoyed  the  honor  of  entertaining  at 
my  table  three  missionaries  who  have  already  spent  two 
years  in  a  new  field  in  Central  Africa,  and  of  whom  two 
have  now  sailed  upon  their  return.  Without  any  air  of 
doing  a  great  thing,  they  are  doing  the  grandest  thing 
that  men  can  do.  Hardly  admitting  that  they  are  mak- 
ing any  special  sacrifice,  they  forsake  all  that  selfish  men 
cling  to,  and  expose  themselves  to  malaria  and  violence 
in  life-long  exile  among  a  despised  race.  One  of  these 
men  happened  to  mention  to  me,  incidentally,  how  he 
had  seen  slaves  beaten  in  Africa  by  brutal  masters.  The 
suppressed  emotion  with  which  this  passing  reference 
was  made  gave  a  glimpse  into  his  heart.  I  know  now 
why  the  rich  trade  of  Africa  in  ivory  and  gold,  presents 
no  temptation  to  him,  and  why  an  easy  life  at  home  in 
this  free  land  is  irksome  life  in  a  prison.  That  man  has 
looked  into  what  David  Livingstone  called  "  the  open 
sore  of  the  world,"  and  believing  that  he  knows  a  cure, 
there  remains  for  him  henceforth  no  life  work  but  to 
preach  in  Africa  that  gospel  which  alone  proclaims  de- 
liverance to  the  captives  and  sets  at  liberty  them  that  are 
bruised. 

But  impressive  as  are  the  vast  needs  of  the  nations,  and 
sublime  as  is  the  thought  of  a  Christian  statesmanship 
which  shapes  the  future  of  continents,  the  simplest  and 
most  obvious  call  to  the  ministry  is  in  the  needs  of  indi- 
viduals immediately  about  us.  Whatever  may  be  true  of 
the  nations,  indisputably  the  spiritual  crisis  of  many  an 
individual  is  now  imminent,  and  his  eternal  weal  or  woe 
must  soon  be  decided.  I  cannot  feel  more  affected  by 
the  fate  of  an  empire  than  I  am  at  the  thought  of  the 
future  of  a  single  immortal  soul.  Ohio  is  a  Christian 
state,  and  yet  fixing  my  eyes  upon  the  smallest  com- 
munity that  I  know,  I  see  among  that  handful  of  my 
fellow  men  an  infinite  need  of  the  gospel  and  an  infinite 
reward  for  the  preacher.    In  old  student  days,  climbing 


129 

the  beautiful  hills  and  following  the  fertile  valleys  of 
southeastern  Ohio,  on  railroad  and  geological  surveys,  I 
myself  debated  this  question  of  a  life  work.  I  asked, 
What  does  this  region  need  ?  The  answer  was  patent. 
It  needed  the  development  of  its  mine,  the  building  of 
furnaces,  mills,  and  factories;  it  needed  railroads,  schools, 
scientific  agriculture,  political  intelligence,  literature, 
art,  medical  and  legal  skill.  But  everywhere  I  saw  evi- 
dence of  one  more  fundamental  and  urgent  need — the 
need  of  a  personal  Savior.  The  miners  needed  Christ 
more  than  they  needed  work,  and  the  masters  needed 
Christ  more  than  they  needed  business.  Seventeen  years 
have  passed  away  since  those  student  wanderings.  In 
the  interval  the  railroads  have  come,  and  a  prodigious  in- 
dustrial development.  Everything  has  enlisted  the 
strength  and  enthusiasm  of  our  young  men  more  than 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  Here  the  law  of  demand 
and  supply  has  failed.  The  harvests  have  been  white,  but 
the  laborers,  how  few  ! 

What  could  so  wake  up  the  heroic  virtues  and  kindle 
the  souls  of  young  men  as  this  call  to  evangelize  the 
world  ?  A  month  ago  we  were  decorating  the  soldiers' 
graves  and  repeating  the  story  of  their  heroism  in  saving 
this  nation  to  union  and  liberty.  I  doubt  not  that  as 
that  story  was  retold  many  young  men  felt  their  hearts 
throb  with  noble  emulation.  They  would  like  to  be  en- 
listed in  some  high  enterprise.  They  would  be  willing  to 
march  through  rain  and  mud  and  heat,  and  to  meet  wounds 
and  death,  if  need  were,  if  only  they  might  meet  and  strike 
down  some  great  curse  of  the  race  like  treason  or  slavery. 
For  all  such  generous  young  hearts  there  is  a  place  in 
Christ's  army  of  preachers  of  the  gospel.  The  divine 
Master  calls  them  to  go  forth  upon  an  enterprise  brighter 
and  vaster  than  the  wildest  dream  of  any  youthful  en- 
thusiast, a  scheme  that  looks  as  if  it  were  woven  all  of 
rainbows  and  which  yet  is  solid  as  adamant.  There  is  a 
plan  to  liberate  the  world  from  the  slavery  of  Satan,  to 


130 

attack  and  banish  every  evil^  to  bring  in  every  blessing, 
to  transform  every  man  into  the  image  of  God,  to  bind 
together  all  of  earth's  millions  in  a  conscious,  holy,  mu- 
tual sympathy,  as  children  of  one  household.  This  plan 
is  not  chimerical  but  has  been  projected  by  the  All-wise  ; 
and  the  Omnipotent  has  provided  for  its  accomplish- 
ment, weapons  not  carnal,  but  spiritual,  and  mighty 
through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong  holds.  Sold- 
iers are  needed.    Who  will  volunteer  ? 

When  our  country  was  imperiled  twenty-five  years  ago, 
every  patriotic  young  man  felt  bound  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion of  personal  duty  in  reference  to  entering  the  army.  It 
was  not  a  question  of  military  genius.  The  young  man 
did  not  say,  I  have  no  natural  aptitude  for  tactics  or 
strategy;  I  have  no  fondness  for  camps  and  marches  or 
for  wearing  a  uniform.  He  did  not  say,  I  can  make  a 
more  eminent  success  in  selling  goods  and  it  won't  do  to 
spoil  a  good  merchant  to  make  a  poor  soldier.  The  life 
of  the  nation  was  in  jeopardy.  Liberty  was  calling  for 
champions  to  stand  and  face  bullets.  It  required  no 
military  genius  to  carry  a  musket  or  the  colors  of  a 
regiment,  but  it  required  a  hero's  heart  of  devotion.  To- 
day the  Captain  of  salvation  calls  for  warriors.  He  who 
died  for  our  salvation  asks  us  to  give  our  lives  to  save  our 
fellow  men  for  whom  also  he  died.  Now  no  Christian 
young  man  is  at  liberty  to  say,  I  can  farm  better  than  I 
can  preach,  or  I  can  succeed  better  at  the  bar  than  in  the 
pulpit.  Young  men  in  your  strength,  I  solemnly  entreat 
you  not  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  your  Savior's  call.  Saved 
by  his  blood,  do  not  refuse  to  carry  the  knowledge  of  that 
salvation  to  others,  that  he  may  see  of  the  travail  of  his 
soul  and  be  satisfied. 

It  is  natural  to  shrink  from  so  high  an  office,  and  diffi- 
dence at  the  outset  may  indicate  only  a  commendable 
humility;  but  it  must  not  be  allowed  to  pass  into  faith- 
lessness and  self-indulgence.  Moses,  at  the  burning  bush, 
shrank  back  from  the  task  of  delivering  Israel  from  Egypt. 


131 

"Who  am  I/'  he  said,  "that  I  should  go  unto  Pharaoh,  and 
that  I  should  bring  forth  the  children  of  Israel  out  of 
Egypt?"  But  God  said,  "  Certainly,  I  will  be  with  thee." 
And  Moses  said  unto  the  Lord,  "  0  my  Lord,  I  am  not 
eloquent,  neither  heretofore,  nor  since  thou  has  spoken 
unto  thy  servant;  but  1  am  slow  of  speech,  and  of  a  slow 
tongue."  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  "  Who  hath  made 
man's  mouth?  or  who  maketh  the  dumb,  or  the  deaf,  or 
the  seeing,  or  the  blind  ?  have  not  I  the  Lord  ?  Now 
therefore  go  and  I  will  be  with  thy  mouth  and  teach  thee 
what  thou  shalt  say."  Isaiah  at  first  drew  back  and  said, 
"  Woe  is  me!  for  I  am  undone;  because  I  am  a  man  of  un- 
clean lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a  people  of  unclean 
lips:  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts." 
Jeremiah  drew  back  and  said,  "Ah,  Lord  God!  behold  I 
cannot  speak:  for  I  am  a  child." 

Young^Christians  often  fall  into  the  fallacy  of  thinking 
of  those  who  have  donefgreat  deeds  in  the  service  of  the 
Church,  as  having  been  by  nature  and  from  the  begin- 
ning what  they  were  at  their  supreme  moments.  We 
think  of  Martin  Luther  as  of  one  who  clearly  saw  from 
the  beginning  the  whole  significance  of  the  Keformation 
and  to  whom  such  heroic  words  as  those  spoken  before' 
the  Diet  of  Worms  were  wholly  natural.  But  even  the 
briefest  life  of  Luther  records  experiences  of  darkness 
and  mental  and  spiritual  conflicts  and  even  of  physical 
weakness,  beyond  the  common.  It  was  no  matter  of 
course  to  that  poor  miner's  son,  that  monk  groping  for 
gospel  light  among  the  superstitions  of  Kome  with  a 
crushing  burden  of  sin  on  his  back,  that  storm-driven, 
devil-beset  soul,  that  his  name  should  become  the 
synonym  for  moral  heroism  and  for  the  successful  search 
and  victorious  championship  of  truth. 

Our  Lord  said  once  to  a  young  Galilean  fisherman, 
"Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  built  my 
church."  To  the  view  of  that  young  fisherman's  com- 
panions he  was  anything  but  a^man  of  rock-like  charac- 


132 

ter.  I  think  that  the  life  of  Peter  is  given  to  us  so  fully 
by  inspiration  that  we  may  see  how  God  creates  out  of 
weak,  ignorant,  impulsive,  passion-tossed  men  the  spirit- 
ual stones  of  his  temples.  One  of  the  great  industries  of 
Ohio  is  the  quarrying  of  sand-stone.  Firm,  durable, 
this  Waverly  and  Berea  stone  lends  itself  with  peculiar 
adaptation  to  the  purposes  of  the  builder.  Still  geology 
tells  us  that  at  one  time  that  stone,  now  so  firm,  was  loose 
sand,  the  sport  of  the  ocean  waves.  The  tiniest  ripple  of 
water  creased  it.  The  weight  of  a  shell  indented  it.  But 
that  sand  became  rock.  So  it  was  with  Peter.  In  his 
childish  and  ill-timed  remarks,  his  misunderstandings, 
blunders,  sins,  mortifications,  tears,  and  repentings,  we 
see  a  picture  of  our  own  experiences.  But  a  day  came 
when  in  Jerusalem  some  one  was  needed  to  preach  the 
gospel  of  the  crucified  and  risen  Christ.  And  Peter  was 
the  man  of  rock  for  the  occasion.  He  had  been  by  di- 
vine discipline  unconsciously  prepared  for  it.  Facing 
then,  without  a  tremor,  that  fierce,  fanatical,  populace,  be- 
fore the  very  men  who  remembered  so  well  the  shame  of 
his  profanity  and  denial  of  Jesus,  braving  the  wrath  of 
the  high  priest  and  of  Pilate,  he  proclaimed  the  truth  of 
*God  ;  and  three  thousand  yielded  to  its  power. 

Do  not  let  us  fail  to  understand  how  glorious  a  thing 
God  is  doing.  He  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the 
world  to  comfound  things  that  are  mighty.  Men  may 
despise  us  ;  we  may  justly  place  a  low  estimate  upon 
ourselves.  -  But  God  pleases  to  put  his  treasures  into  such 
earthen  vessels.  Neither  let  us  fail  to  understand  our 
own  heavy  responsibilities.  As  it  lay  upon  the  young 
men  of  the  last  generation  whether  apt  for  war  or  not, 
to  save  the  country,  so  it  lies  upon  the  Christian  young 
men  of  to-day,  whether  naturally  gifted  for  the  work  of 
preaching  or  not,  to  save  a  lost  world.  There  are  no 
others  to  save  it.  If  we  lack  experience  and  steadiness 
and  enthusiasm  and  piety,  it  is  our  duty  to  set  ourselves 


133 

to  acquire  these  qualities  ;  the  lack  is  no  excuse  for  un- 
faithfulness. 

A  call  to  the  gospel  ministry  once  recognized  and  ac- 
cepted will  be  ever  regarded  by  the  Christian  young  man 
who  receives  it,  not  as  a  painful  defeat  of  hope,  but  a  sur- 
passing manifestation  of  divine  grace,  beyond  all  that 
could  have  been  hoped.  "  Unto  me/'  said  St.  Paul,  in 
adoring  and  gratitude, — *'  unto  me  who  am  less  than  the 
least  of  all  saints  is  this  grace  given,  that  I  shall  preach 
among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ." 

It  is  no  small  privilege  to  be  a  successor  of  the  Apos- 
tles and  prophets,  to  be  selected  as  the  special  channel  of 
God's  blessing  to  our  fellow  men — to  stand  in  a  commun- 
ity with  no  other  occupation  than  to  be  the  centre  of  holy 
influence,  to  practice  the  divine  alchemy  of  transmuting 
souls  from  baseness  into  the  pure  gold  of  heaven,  to  have 
in  possession  the  grand  secret  of  peace  and  joy,  to  pour 
the  oil  and  wine  of  heavenly  consolation  into  hearts  quiv- 
ering with  anguish  for  which  the  world  has  no  solace. 
The  banker  may  guard  men's  money,  the  lawyer  may 
protect  their  property,  the  physician  may  ease  their  pain 
and  prolong  their  lives  ;  but  the  preacher  of  the  gospel 
persuades  them  to  lay  up  treasures  in  bags  that  wax  not 
old,  to  find  a  home  in  the  city  that  hath  the  foundations, 
to  secure  the  peace  which  the  world  cannot  give,  and  an 
eternal  inheritance  in  that  land  where  there  is  no  death, 
and  the  inhabitant  shall  not  say,  I  am  sick. 

Every  motive  of  philanthropy  urges  us  to  carry  the 
gospel  to  those  who  have  not  yet  been  blessed  by  it.  Ev- 
ery motive  of  honor  and  of  gratitude  reinforce  the  call. 
We  are  not  our  own,  but  are  bought  with  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ.     His  wish  should  be  our  law. 

I  may  say  in  conclusion,  every  motive  of  holy  aspiration 
and  sanctified  personal  ambition  calls  to  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel.  There  will  come  a  day  when  all  earthly  glory 
shall  fade,  but  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  shall 
shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever.     In  the  hearts  of 


134 

those  rescued  from  perdition  by  their  efforts,  they  shall 
eternally  hold  a  place  next  to  that  of  the  divine  Savior. 
In  the  estimation  of  the  angels,  the  victors  in  these  spir- 
itual conquests  will  ever  appear  the  most  illustrious  of 
men.  No  earthly  achievement  can  compare,  in  their 
view,  with  that  of  having  saved  a  soul  from  death.  In 
the  bright  throng  which  shall  encircle  in  heaven  the 
throne  of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  who  can  doubt  that  those  shall  stand  inmost  who 
shall  have  been  most  identified  with  him,  in  spirit  and 
work  here  below.  For  they  shall  be  best  prepared  to  en- 
ter into  the  joy  of  their  Lord. 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  LITERARY  SOCIETIES. 

CULTURE  AND:G0VERNMENT  IN  AMERICA. 
By  Rev.  Wm.  G.  Andrews,  D.  D. 


Mr.  President,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Literary 
Societies  : — I  once  heard  a  graduate  of  Harvard  say  that 
at  a  Cambridge  commencement  the  theme  uppermost  is 
culture,  and  at  New  Haven  the  theme  uppermost  is  Yale. 
His  filial  sympathy  with  Cambridge  went  iar  to  show 
that  he  could  at  any  rate  understand  the  filial  enthusiasm 
of  New  Haven.  Such  enthusiasm  is  both  intelligible 
and  honorable,  for  it  rests  largely  on  a  consciousness  of 
the  ties  which  alma  mater  knits  between  living  men  ;  it 
is  one  form  of  the  sentiment  of  brotherhood.  And  as  I 
look  back  to  commencement  day  at  Marietta  thirty  years 
ago,  hardly  anything  then  uttered  comes  to  my  memory 
so  promptly  as  a  few  words  which  expressed  that  senti- 
ment. They  were  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  col- 
lege, then  taking  the  office  which  he  now  lays  down,  in 
acknowledgment  of  his  kindness  to  a  former  member  of 
the  graduating  class  whom  he  brought  to  his  own  house 
when  fatally  ill,  and  who  died  under  his  roof.  And 
nothing  more  strongly  inclined  me  to  undertake  the  task 
to  which  you  have  called  me,  than  the  hope  of  once  more 
listening  to  the  voice  and  grasping  the  hand  of  the  class- 
mate who  spoke  those  words.*    That  it  was  his  office  to 


*Hon.  John  F.  Follett,  LL.  D.,  alumni  orator,  and  valedictorian  of  the 
class  of  1855.  f' 


136 

speak  them  proved  him  to  have  made  the  best  use  of  the 
training  which  is  here  furnished  to  the  mind  ;  that  he 
did  speak  them,  and  thrill  us  by  speaking  them,  showed 
how  the  discipline  of  comradeship  educates  the  heart. 
And  it  educates  the  conscience  too  ;  the  great  obligation 
of  mutual  helpfulness  is  more  promptly  confessed  when 
feeling  is  enlisted  on  the  side  of  duty.  The  conditions  of 
college  life,  in  fact,  provide  for  a  threefold  action  of  cul- 
ture, extending  to  the  whole  of  manhood.  Another  of 
my  contemporaries  has  lately  told  us,  on  the  cover  of  the 
Alumni  Memorial,*  how  Marietta  claims  a  place  for  her 
sons  in  the  fields  of  letters  and  of  arms,  of  the  fine  arts, 
and  the  useful  arts,  and  of  the  great  ari  of  government. 
In  the  last  they  must  all  serve,  for  democracy  makes  every 
citizen  a  member  of  the  governing  body.  Accordingly, 
on  the  scroll  which  helps  us  to  interpret  the  device,  we 
read  not  only  Vivat  Academia,  but  Vivat  RespuUica ;  Long 
live  the  college.  Long  live  the  commonwealth.  These  are 
kindred  aspirations  ;  college  and  commonwealth  appeal 
in  like  ways  to  scholar  and  patriot,  and  the  discipline  of 
the  small  society  should  prepare  men  to  serve,  and  in 
this  country  to  govern,  the  great.  And  so,  guided  by 
sentiment  and  art,  I  reach  a  theme  which  I  am  sure 
needs  as  much  as  any  to  be  studied  under  the  "  dry 
light "  of  science,  namely,  Culture  and  Government  in 
America. 

In  speaking  of  culture  it  is  natural  to  consult  the 
Apostle  of  Culture,  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold,  and  as  Mr. 
Arnold  has  written  also  about  government  and  about 
America,  he  ought  to  throw  light  on  our  subject  as  a 
whole.  Opening  his  well  known  book  entitled  ''Culture 
and  Anarchy,"  we  soon  find  him  giving  it  as  the  true  aim 
of  culture,  ''to  make  reason  and  the  will  of  God  prevail." 
This  is  an  apostolic  sentiment,  and  is  honestly  credited 
to  a  bishop.      We  are  told,  farther,  that  culture  is  the 


♦Designed  by  E.  F.  Andrews,  Washington,  D.  C,  class  of  1853. 


137 

"pursuit  of  our  total  perfection,"  harmoniously  "develop- 
ing all  sides  of  our  humanity,"  as  also  the  pursuit  of  "a 
general  perfection,  developing  all  part  of  our  society."  It 
has  not  only  a  scientific,  but  also  a  ^'  moral,  social  and 
beneficent  character."  Mr.  x4.rnold  therefore  clearly 
ascribes  to  it  that  threefold  action  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
and  does  not  restrict  it  to  the  region  of  pure  intelligence. 
He  himself  detects  in  it  a  strong  resemblance  to  religion, 
while  the  author  of  "Ecce  Homo,"  Professor  Seeley, 
thinks  it  a  pity  not  to  call  it  religion.  Like  religion,  too, 
culture  aims  at  "an  inward  .condition  of  the  mind  and 
spirit,"  and  the  Christian  religion,  by  aiming  at  universal 
perfection,  it  seeks  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

But  Mr.  A^rnold  attaches  great  importance  to  the  intel- 
lectual side  of  culture,  because  men  who  mean  to  do  the 
right  thing  very  often  do  the  wrong  thing  through  the 
lack  of  light,  or  knowledge.  The  passion  for  doing, 
which  he  ca'lls  Hebraisrii  in  honor  of  our  Hebrew  teach- 
ers of  righteousness,  from  Moses  to  St.  Paul,  must  have 
its  complement  in  a  passion  for  knowing,  which  is  a  large 
part  of  what  he  calls  Hellenism,  from  the  Greeks  who  ex- 
celled here.  He  therefore  especially  commends  to  us, 
as  the  method  of  culture,  the  getting  to  know,  somehow, 
the  best  thought  of  the  world  about  the  things  which 
chiefly  concern  us.  Hellenism,  moreover,  embraces  not 
only  "light"  but  "sweetness;  "  with  its  ardor  for  truth,  or 
for  "seeing  things  as  they  are,"  is  inseparably  connected 
its  joy  in  beauty  and  harmony. 

But  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  who  burns  our  dry  light  for 
us,  complains  of  Mr.  Arnold  for  not  observing  "that  the 
first  use  of  knowledge  is  the  right  ordering  of  all  actions." 
The  complaint  is  so  unjust  as  to  show  that  Mr.  Spencer's 
hand  is  a  little  unsteady,  but  it  creates  the  presumption 
that  Mr.  Arnold's  fragrant  lamp  does  not  burn  quite  clear. 
The  discovery  at  the  outset  that  our  guides  are  not  infal- 
lible is  fortunate,  for  culture,  we  are  told,  "will  not  let  us 
rivet  our  faith  upon  any  one  man."    And  Mr.  Arnold's 


138 

fallibility  becomes  very  plain  when  he  affirms  that  just 
now  we  need  to  be  cured  of  Hebraising,  or  following  our 
consciences  so  unflinchingly.  What  he  really  means  to 
teach,  however,  and  does  teach  in  a  persuasive  though 
perplexing  way,  is  that  we  should  find  out  how  things 
ought  to  be  done  before  we  do  them,  and  that  a  consider- 
able part  of  culture,  very  necessary  at  present,  consists 
in  getting  the  power  to  find  out.  But  he  distinctly  puts 
Hebraism,  or  the  pursuit  of  righteousness  and  benefi- 
cence, above  Hellenism,  or  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  ! 
And  his  view  of  culture  as  having  to  do  with  emotion 
and  conduct  as  well  as  intelligence,  may  be  summed  up 
in  two  lines  of  his  own  : 

"  That  you  think  clear,  feel  deep,  bear  fruit  well, 
The  Friend  of  man  desires." 

It  is  easy  to  pass  from  Mr.  Arnold's  conception  of  cult- 
ure to  his  conception  of  government,  for  he  makes  the 
two  as  closely  related  as  soul  and  body.  G6vernment,  or 
the  state,  according  to  him,  should  be,  and  is  going  to  be, 
the  '*  powerful,  beneficent,  and  sacred  expression  and 
organ  .  .  of  our  collective  best  self,  .  .  the 
very  self  which  culture,  or  the  study  of  perfection,  seeks 
to  develop  in  us."  Such  a  state  can  be  *' entrusted 
with  stringent  powers  .  .  .  controlling,  as  govern- 
ment, the  free  swing  of  this  or  that  one  of  its  members  in 
the  name  of  the  higher  reason  of  all,"  able  to  bring  about 
"whatever  great  changes  are  needed,"  and  even  to  carry 
on  *'a  revolution  by  due  course  of  law."  This  conception 
of  government  as  the  strong  right  arm  of  culture,  is  not 
precisely  that  of  Mr.  Spencer  and  others,  and  may  be  a 
fresh  disclosure  of  Mr.  Arnold's  fallibility.  3ut  it  is  cer- 
tainly true  that  state  action  ought  to  be  controlled  by 
reason,  and  that  culture  can  promote  this  by  helping  in- 
dividual citizens  to  be  reasonable.  Whether  or  not  it 
may  use  government,  it  can  at  least  serve  it  nobly. 

We  inquire,  finally,  what  Mr.  Arnold  has  to  say  about 
America.     In  1869,  when  ''Culture  and  Anarchy"  was 


139 

written,  he  believed  that  Americans,  for  the  lack  of  "a 
high  culture  of  certain  classes,"  were  suffering  from  a 
''lack  of  general  intelligence,"  and  that  they  fell  short  of 
Englishmen  in  such  matters.  And  the  chief  cause  of 
this  he  supposed  to  be  our  persistent  Hebraising,  our  ex- 
clusive and  therefore  unintelligent  study  of  Moses  and 
St.  Paul !  It  apparently  follows  that  government  can  get 
little  help  from  culture  in  America,  and  that  our  institu- 
tions, be  they  good  or  bad,  must  work  badly  in  such  un- 
skillful hands.  But  Mr.  Arnold  paid  us  a  visit  a  year  or 
two  ago,  and  he  discovered  hej-e  a  community  which,  in 
consequence  of  the  remarkable  adaptation  of  the  govern- 
ment to  the  people,  "in  general  sees  its  political  and 
social  concerns  straight,,  and  sees  them  clear,"  to  a 
degree  quite  unknown  •in  England.  He  likens  the 
federal  system  to  a  "  wonderful  suit  of  clothes,"  which 
grows  with  the  wearer,  and  he  particularly  admires 
the  senate,  through  which  the  local  governments 
become  part  of  the  general  government.  Govern- 
ment in  America,  therefore,  instead  of  being  damaged 
by  our  lack  of  high  culture,  is  itself,  in  Mr.  Arnold's 
opinion,  effectively  promoting  general  intelligence.  But 
as  far  as  this  is  true  it  proves  that  knowing  comes  in 
part  by  doing  ;  the  honest  citizen  finds  out  how  to  make 
reason  and  the  will  of  God  prevail,  not  merely  when 
he  reads  books,  or  talks  with  college  graduates,  but 
when  he  Hebraises  a  little,  when,  for  instance,  he 
uses  his  honesty  by  casting  his  unbought  vote  for  honest 
men. 

And  how  did  Americans  get  the  institutions  which  cul- 
tivate them  ?  The  federal  system,  which  is  all  that  we 
need  consider  now,  was,  undoubtedly,  like  everything 
which  is  great  and  permanent,  a  development;  it  was  not 
manufactured,  but  grew.  Our  "  wonderful  suit  of  clothes  " 
is  our  skin,  and  it  ought  to  fit  us.  The  federal  system  is 
an  oflPshoot  from  the  old  imperial  system,  in  which  true 
though  dependent  states  were  bound  together  by  the  cen- 


140 

tral  authority  of  the  British  crown.  In  that  system  also 
the  people  were  receiving  tuition  through  their  right  of 
local  legislation,  and  they  were  already  politically  cultiva- 
ted when  the  great  crisis  of  a  century  ago  came  upon 
them.  But  this  crisis  was  very  great ;  it  was  a  revolu- 
tion, and  in  part  a  bloody  one.  And  it  was  something 
besides  a  fine  political  training  which  kept  the  colonists 
from  anarchy,  and  made  the  transition  from  one  system 
to  another  essentially  a  revolution  by  due  course  of  law. 
More  effective  than  the  discipline  of  institutions  was  an 
inward  discipline  given  by  Hebraism.  At  the  period  of 
emigration  England,  as  a  recent  historian  tells  us,  was 
"Puritan  England,"  and  what  she  was,  her  emigrant  child- 
ren were,  in  Virginia  as  really  as  in  Massachusetts.  Pur- 
itanism was  a  far  wider  fact  thait  non-conformity,  being  a 
stage  in  the  normal  evolution  of  Teutonic  Christianity  in 
practical  England.  God's  will  having  become  better 
known  must  be  better  done, — this  was  the  formula  ac- 
cording to  which  Puritanism  was  evolved  out  of  Protest- 
antism. Its  only  aspect  was  insular  and  narrow,  but  its 
sense  of  individual  responsibility  and  its  instinct  of  obe- 
dience produced  strong  champions  of  civil  freedom  and  of 
order.  And  it  appeared  with  its  intense  Hebraism  just 
in  time  to  educate  America  and  to  help  secure  to  us  those 
institutions  which  have  lately  astonished  the  Apostle  of 
culture  with  such  a  display  of  that  precious  fruit  of  cult- 
ure, "lucidity,"  for  which  he  would  have  remanded  us 
to  Hellenism. 

But  Hellenism  has  played  its  part  in  our  history,  and  a 
great  one.  An  obvious  and  very  valuable  result  of  general 
intelligence  was  the  capacity  of  the  colonists  for  know- 
ing and  trusting  highly  trained  leaders.  And  when  the 
most  delicate  if  not  the  most  difficult  task  of  the  whole 
revolutionary  period  had  to  be  performed,  and  the  con- 
stitutional convention  of  1787  met  to  perform  it,  four- 
fifths  of  the  delegates,  we  are  told,  were  college-bred,  and 
the  one  whom  I  believe  to  have  best  understood  the  work 


141 

before  theiti,  was  a  college  president.*  Most  of  the  oth- 
ers, too,  had  acquired  intellectual  culture  from  books  or 
from  association  with  well-read  men.  They  were,  as  a 
body,  especially  familiar  with  the  best  writers  on  political 
science,  and  acquainted  with  the  history  of  confederations, 
ancient  and  modern.  And  yet  it  might  seem  that  their 
fine  training  was  of  little  value  after  all,  for  the  existing 
federal  system,  with  the  senate  as  its  keystone,  was  fairly 
forced  upon  them,  and  was  only  accepted  as  a  compro- 
mise. But  to  accept  it  was  precisely  what  they  had  to  do. 
It  was  not  their  business  to  dovise  a  new  system,  but  to 
set  free  from  entanglement  one  already,  though  imper- 
fectly, in  operation.  Nor  is  it  strange  that  acceptance 
was  difficult.  The  true  head  of  the  young  empire,  the 
real  successor  in  America  of  King  George  the  Third,  was 
the  sovereign  people.  But  this  sovereign,  though  pro- 
claimed in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  had  been 
virtually  deposed  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  The 
states,  on  the  other  hand,  which  had  been  for  generations 
the  guardians  of  American  liberty,  and  which  were  in- 
vested with  sovereignity  by  the  Articles,  had  nearly 
ruined  the  country  in  trying  to  rule  it.  It  was  not  easy 
to  see  where  the  supreme  authority  lay,  though  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  discussion  was  making  the  situation 
more  intelligible  and  the  final  adjustment  between  op- 
posing theories  easier.  But  the  chief  service  which 
high  culture  rendered  to  government  in  the  convention 
itself,  was  probably  in  enabling  its  members  to  unite  in 
adopting  an  instrument  which  wholly  satisfied  none  of 
them,  by  means  of  that  ''  flexibility,"  or  independence 
of  particular  methods  and  abstract  maxims,  which  Mr. 
Arnold  describes  as  one  of  the  choicest  fruits  of  culture. 
And  the  best  service  was  rendered  after  the  convention 
adjourned.  The  new  constitution  had  to  be  ratified  by  a 
people  of  whom  the  majority  disliked  it,  who  were  pe- 

*Dr.  William  Samuel  Johnson,  of  Connecticut,  then  just  chosen  presi- 
dent of  Columbia  College, 


142 

culiarly  accessible  to  demagogues  in  consequence  of  gen- 
eral impoverishment  and  the  irritating  spectacle  of  great 
fortunes  not  too  fairly  earned,  and  many  of  whom  were 
ripe  for  violence.  The  most  conspicuous  instrument  of 
the  triumph  which  was  then  won  by  culture,  and  its  im- 
mortal monument,  now  exists  in  the  form  of  a  book,  in 
the  series  of  essays  known  as  ''  The  Federalist."  The 
mastery  over  one's  self  and  the  consequent  influence 
over  others  which  the  best  intellectual  discipline  pro- 
motes, have  seldom  been  better  illustrated  than  when 
Hamilton  and  Madison,  sacrificing  cherished  theories 
of  their  own,  successfully  defended  against  popular  pas- 
sion and  prejudice  the  system  which  has  been  justifying 
their  advocacy  ever  since.  And  yet  they  must  have 
failed  but  for  the  superior  intelligence  of  the  people  at 
large,  the  common  sense  which  taught  them  to  listen  to 
reason  even  when  they  were  angry.  And  this  takes  us 
back  to  the  old  Puritan  strictness  of  conscience,  and  the 
habit  of  doing  the  best  they  knew,  through  which  they 
had  learned  wisdom.  Hellenism  did  a  priceless  service 
in  guiding  revolution  to  a  happy  issue,  but  Hebraism 
both  made  revolutionists  capable  of  guidance,  and  made 
the  guiding  voice  intelligible  to  them.  And  so  our  theme 
unfolds  into  a  thesis,  and  we  can  set  forth  the  normal 
state  of  things  here  somewhat  as  follows  :  Government 
in  America,  resting  on  general  morality,  promotes  general  in- 
telligence, and  thus  gets  more  effectual  support  from  high  in- 
tellectual culture. 

But  the  actual  state  of  things  may  have  become  ex- 
tremely abnormal  through  later  changes.  And  two  great 
external  causes  of  change  have  been  at  work  since  our 
institutions  took  form.  One  is  a  vast  material  develop- 
ment, the  other  is  a  vast  immigration.  To  the  concur- 
rence of  these  causes  a  large  part  of  what  now  seems 
menacing  to  government  is  due.  The  strain  of  industrial 
competition  attending  material  progress,  falls  most  pain- 
fully on  that  multitude  of  citizens  not  yet  fully  educated 


143 

by  our  institutions.  It  is  they,  too,  who  are  most  irritated 
by  the  inequality  of  outward  condition  .which  rapid  out- 
ward growth  produces,  because  inequality  is  what  they 
imagined  themselves  to  have  escaped  in  coming  here. 
But  others,  children  of  American  parents,  and  old  pupils 
of  democracy,  are  getting  supplementary  instruction 
which  confuses  them  terribly,  being  quite  opposed  to  all 
that  they  have  learned  about  the  dignity  and  the  duties 
of  manhood.  We  cannot  but  feel  that  our  public,  as  a 
whole,  is  less  intelligent  and  more  passionate  and  proba- 
bly less  scrupulous  than  that  which  the  framers  of  the 
constitution  had  to  deal  with. 

Now  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  great  value  in  such 
circumstances  of  that  intellectual  training  which  Mr. 
Arnold  particularly  commends.  Government  and  society 
are  safer  here  because  of  our  agencies  for  popular  educa- 
tion. They  bring  into  exercise  the  inward  working,  and 
involve  that  effort  to  improve  men  rather  than  their 
circumstances,  on  which  our  champion  of  Hellenism 
properly  insists.  And  since  mental  treasure  is  a  kind  of 
wealth  which  will  not  be  hoarded,  since  the  cultivated 
man  can  scarcely  help  being  a  teacher  in  some  way,  this 
rich  possession  is  a  common  birthright,  and  bears  witness 
to  a  realm  in  which  none  can  be  '^  disinherited  "  but  with 
their  own  consent.  And  as  fast  as  men's  souls  are  so 
enriched,  inequality  disappears.  Slaves  have  again  and 
again  and  again  become  thus  the  peers  of  princes  ;  the 
bondman  Epictetus  lives  in  literature  as  the  companion 
of  the  emperor  Marcus  Aurelius.  Such  culture  renders 
outward  circumstances  matters  of  comparative  indiffer- 
ence, by  causing  us  to  care  less  about  what  we  have  and 
more  about  what  we  are.  It  makes  envy,  the  being  mis- 
erable because  others  have  what  we  have  not,  not  only 
hateful  but  irrational,  and  haughtiness,  the  ignorant  over- 
valuation of  an  inferior  article,  like  money  or  birth,  not 
only  ridiculous  but  intensely  vulgar.  And  the  habit  of 
dispassionate  thinking  which  it  promotes  will  train  men 


144 

in  times  of  discontent,  to  distinguish  carefully  between 
troubles  which  are  another's  fault  and  those,  far  more 
numerous,  which  are  one's  own  fault  or  nobody's  ;  be- 
tween those  which  are  peculiar  to  a  class  and  the  greater 
ones  which  are  common  to  all  classes  ;  between  those 
which  can  and  those  which  cannot  be  remedied.  And  a 
man  who  has  given  his  brain  some  exercise  of  this  sort, 
will  be  likely  to  reflect  that  his  brain  has  a  capacity  for 
labor,  and  that  this  organ  may  have  been  somehow  in 
partnership  with  the  hand  in  the  business  of  production. 
In  fact  he  will  see,  if  he  thinks  honestly,  with  a  disposi- 
tion to  do  justice  to  his  own  power  of  thought,  that 
thought  is  the  true  producer,  that  mere  manual  labor 
never  produced  anything  except  by  accident,  and  that  to 
claim  for  such  labor  the  ownership  of  all  wealth  by  right 
of  creation  is  to  talk  nonsense.  For  the  honor  of  his 
own  manhood  he  will  henceforth  tolerate  no  theory 
which  ranks  his  brain  below  his  muscles  or  his  stomach. 
He  will,  however,  see  something  else,  and  something 
which  will  appeal  strongly  to  passion.  He  will  see  that 
in  an  industrial  age,  with  its  increasing  use  of  machinery 
and  its  more  minute  division  of  labor,  a  workingman's  in- 
telligence is  of  less  and  less  value  in  production  ;  that,  as 
Adam  Ferguson  perceived  at  the  dawn  of  such  an  age, 
'Hhe  genius  of  the  master,  perhaps,  is  cultivated,  while 
that  of  the  inferior  workman  lies  waste."  He  will  not 
expect  to  change  these  conditions  ;  that  would  almost 
annihilate  production.  But  he  will  feel  the  more  deeply 
the  more  intelligent  he  is,  the  evil  of  a  tendency,  which, 
unchecked,  would  turn  every  civilized  country  into  a  land 
"  Where  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay." 
Here  we  reach  a  point  where  mere  Hellenism  fails  us. 
Popular  education  might  start  everybody  in  life  with  an 
intellectual  competence,  but  in  our  day  the  mental  equip- 
ment of  multitudes,  such  as  it  is,  tends  to  fall  more  and 
more  into  disuse.  They  must  spend  their  lives  in  tasks 
which  make  a  decreasing  demand  on  thought,  and  hence 


145 

give  an  increasing  power  to  blind  feeling.  Evidently  we 
must  fall  back  once  more  on  Hebraism  ;  we  must  call  to 
mind  the  principle  which  our  earlier  history  illustrates, 
that  conduct  brings  culture,  that  the  intellect  is  kept  busy 
through  a  vigorous  action  of  the  conscience.  Mr.  Arnold 
himself  recognized  the  need  in  America  of  invigorating 
conscience,  for  he  perceived  among  our  public  men  a 
lower  tone,  a  less  delicate  sense  of  personal  honor,  than 
he  was  accustomed  to  find  in  England.  And  his  country- 
man, Mr.  Spencer,  sees  in  such  facts  as  the  political  in- 
fluence of  "  bosses  "  a  proof  of  moral  weakness.  "  It  is," 
he  says,  "  essentially  a  question  of  character,  and  only  in 
a  secondary  degree  a  question  of  knowledge."  Our  own 
countryman.  Professor  Sumner,  who  prizes  knowing  as 
much  as  anybody,  declares  that  the  task  of  preventing  a 
corrupt  and  ruinous  control  of  government  by  the  rich, 
"calls  for  fresh  reserves  of  moral  force  and  political 
virtue  from  the  very  foundations  of  the  social  body." 

And  yet,  much  as  our  society  still  needs  the  help  of 
Hebraism,  we  cannot  have  it  in  just  the  old  Puritanic 
form,  nor  is  that  precisely  what  is  needed.  Mr.  Spencer 
when  in  America  was  struck  by  the  way  in  which  one 
who  has  become  "  a  slave  to  accumulation "  learns  to 
treat  all  competitors  as  enemies  to  be  crushed,  and  so 
"  makes  life  harder  "  for  others  than  it  ought  to  be.  One 
great  evil  of  an  industrial  age  is  the  shrewd  selfishness 
which  can  be  gratified  without  the  sacrifice  of  legality, 
and  against  which  the  austere  Puritan  conscience  is  an 
imperfect  protection.  Nor  in  fact  is  conscience  by  any 
means  inactive  among  us.  It  often  acts  with  strange 
vehemence,  on  the  one  hand  in  demands  fanatically  ut- 
tered or  barbarously  enforced  for  what  men  suppose  to  be 
justice;  on  the  other  hand  in  a  reckless  zeal  for  abstract 
truth  which  tends  to  a  kind  of  scientific  fanaticism  and 
barbarism.  Its  action  no  doubt  needs  to  be  invigorated,  but 
this  must  be  done  largely  by  regulating  and  purifying  it, 
above  all  by  freeing  it  from  the  disturbing  influence  of 


146 

wild  or  base  passion.  And  the  right  instrument  for  such 
a  service  is  tender  and  noble  passion.  It  is  the  ''  enthu- 
siasm of  humanity,"  the  expanded  and  exalted  instinct  of 
brotherhood,  which  can  best  master  an  absorbing  self-love, 
and  guide  perverted  moral  energy  towards  great  social 
ends.  And  to  develop  this  instinct  we  have  found  to  be 
one  of  the  tasks  of  culture,  and  a  natural  result  of  aca- 
demic training.  Even  the  scholar  who  seems  to  please 
himself  by  uttering  disagreeable  truths  is  playing  a  far 
more  fraternal  part  than  the  demogogue  who  tells  agree- 
able lies  to  serve  himself.  And  Mr.  Spencer  illustrated 
the  ''altruistic"  or  brotherly  spirit  of  the  truly  cultivated 
man  by  turning  his  farewell  to  America  into  an  exhorta- 
tion, and  cautiously  prophesying  of'  the  far-off  age  when 
"  the  wish  to  be  admired  "  shall  give  place  to  ''  the  wish 
to  be  loved."  And  it  was  certainly  never  more  important 
to  remember  that  defect  of  sympathy  is  defect  of  culture. 
If  generous  and  hungry  Orlandos  shall  disturb  our  din- 
ner-tables by  shouting,  "  He  dies  that  touches  any  of  this 
fruit  till  I  and  my  affairs  are  answered,"  it  will  be  desira- 
ble to  have  a  more  convincing  reply  ready  than  the  phi- 
losopher's : 

"  An  you  will  not  be  answered  with  reason, 

I  must  die." 

True  culture  knows  how  to  get  a  hearing  both  for  reason 
and  conscience  by  speaking  to  the  heart.  And  it  was 
sympathy  which  taught  Shakespeare's  hero  to  crave 
pardon  for  acting  like  a  savage. 

Reason,  no  doubt,  must  restrain  sympathy  towards 
worthless  sufferers. 

To  make  life  easier  for  them,  as  worthless,  though  it 
must  sometimes  be  done  for  the  sake  of  the  innocent  or 
for  our  own  sakes,  nevertheless  contravenes  that  bene- 
ficent provision  for  the  survival  of  the  fittest  by  which 
nature  would  have  the  unfit  gradually  destroy  themselves. 
But  the  instinctive  action  of  culture  in  seeking  to  impart 
itself  even  to  them,  so  that  they  may  cease  to  be  worth- 


147 

less,  violates  no  law,  and  is  a  great  element  in  the  pro- 
gress of  civilization.  In  my  native  town  in  the  Housa- 
tonic  valley,  there  once  lived  a  set  of  lazy  and  vicious 
creatures  tolerably  protected  by  the  government  against 
injustice,  but  not  much  delayed  thereby  in  their  journey 
toward  extinction.  They  fell  at  last  under  the  power  of 
a  new  force  of  brotherhood  resident  in  some  most  broth- 
erly men,  and  to  a  large  extent  became  industrious  and 
virtuous.  They,  with  others  like  them,  bore  various 
hardships  and  wrongs,  including  more  than  one  painful 
removal,  meekly  but  manfully,  and  they  advanced  in 
civilization  by  the  stages  which  science  recognizes  as 
normal.  The  process  lasted  long  enough  to  enlist  the 
influence  of  heredity  in  their  elevation,  and  after  their 
last  removal  they  were  justifying  their  existence  in  the 
eyes  of  political  economy  by  visibly  growing  rich.  Be- 
fore Marietta  was  settled  they  had  established  a  well- 
ordered  common-wealth  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mus- 
kingum. And  then  white  civilization  utterly  despaired 
of  them  and  they  were  blotted  out  of  existence,  as  a 
community,  by  a  wholesale  butchery.  I  do  not  think 
that  science  uses  the  murder  of  the  Moravian  Indians  of 
Gnadenhutten  as  an  example  of  the  survival  of  the 
fittest,  but  the  like  barbarism  has  sheltered  itself  behind 
that  principle  since.  iVnd  the  blot  has  appeared  again 
and  again  on  American  civilization,  as  if,  wherever  the 
current  of  your  river  is  checked  in  the  service  of  com- 
merce, its  waters  as  they  whiten  should  disclose  the  red 
stain. of  that  martyrdom.  Blood  so  spilt  is  at  least  not 
silent,  and  its  voice  floating  over  this  valley  forever  re- 
peats the  best  lesson  of  culture,  the  true  answer  to  the 
oldest  question  of  social  science,  ^'Am  I  my  brother's 
keeper?" 

This  story  has  a  farther  value  for  us  in  that  it  brings 
into  view  an  early  manifestation  of  a  great  cultivating 
agency,  which  seems  to  have  been  prepared  in  the  eight- 
eenth century  for  its  task  in  the  nineteenth.     The  his- 


148 

torian,  Lecky,  tells  us  how  at  the  time  of  the  French  rev- 
olution, and  when  ''  the  war  between  labor  and  capital 
began,"  England  was  saved  from  ''grave  dangers  to  the 
state"  in  part  by  means  of  the  evangelical  revival,  under 
the  Wesleys  and  others.  That,  he  says,  ''opened  a  new 
spring  of  moral  and  religious  energy  among  the  poor, 
and  at  the  same  time  gave  a  powerful  impulse  to  the 
philanthrophy  of  the  rich."  And  it  did  this  work  of 
culture  principally  by  an  appeal  to  feeling,  through  the 
more  fervent  announcement  of  the  divine  compassion. 
Its  strength,  as  also  its  weakness,  its  exaggeration  and 
one-sidedness,  lay  in  its  relation  to  the  emotions.  It  was 
another  stage  in  the  evolution  of  Anglo- American  Chris- 
tianity, naturally  following  Puritanism  and  taking  that 
up  into  its  own  onward  movement.  As  in  some  sense  an 
enfranchisement  of  the  heart  in  a  clearer  perception  of 
God's  fatherhood,  it  made  man's  brotherhood  seem  more 
real,  and  the  great  philanthropies  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury are  its  proper  outcome.  If  our  age  has  made  the 
burdens  of  life  heavier  for  any  portion  of  society,  new 
strength  to  bear  them  has  been  present  in  the  quick- 
ened instinct  of  helpfulness. 

While  Puritanism,  moreover,  was  British,  (though 
something  akin  to  it  can  be  traced  in  Germany,)  Evan- 
gelicalism was  historically  half  German.  And  the  story 
of  Gnadenhutten  shows  how  easily  the  Evangelical  spirit, 
a  kind  of  ripening  of  Christianity,  passes  the  strongest 
barriers  of  race.  In  its  German  form  too,  from  Pietism 
onward,  it  was  long  comparatively  indifferent  to  theolo- 
gical diversities,  and  Anglo-American  Evangelicalism  has 
gradually  overcome  the  bitter  antagonism  between  Ar- 
minians  and  Calvinists.  All  this  helped  to  prepare  the 
way  for  dealing  with  the  problem  presented  in  America 
by  immigration.  Americans  of  the  old  stock  had  a  kind- 
lier welcome  for  the  new-comers,  and  the  latter  became 
Americans  faster.  And  thus  there  is  a  vast  body  of  citi- 
zens who  have  much  of  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of 


149 

the  colonial  period,  along  with  a  more  active  benevolence. 
One  of  their  representatives  is  Professor  Sumner's  "For- 
gotten Man,"  who  works  hard,  minds  his  own  business, 
and  generally  says  his  prayers,  and  whose  goodness  of 
heart  I  naay  insist  on,  after  having  spent  upwards  of 
twenty  years  in  his  service.  He  is  on  the  side  of  free- 
dom and  order,  or  of  government.  Against  the  stupid 
ferocity  which  clamors  for  wholesale  butchery,  such 
men  are  armed  not  only  by  their  common  sense  and  their 
sound  morality,  but  by  a  tenderness  of  feeling  not  com- 
mon a  century  ago. 

But  this  new  power  oi  sympathy,  as  it  involves  a  keen 
appreciation  of  the  evils  which  breed  social  discontent, 
evils  which  press  hard  on  some  who  do  not  meditate 
violent  remedies,  so  it  has  produced  a  wide-spread  con- 
viction that  society  itself  has  a  responsibility  in  the  mat- 
ter. It  is  plain  that  the  remedies  applied  by  indviduals, 
or  by  limited  associations,  act  irregularly,  that  they  are 
often  absurdly  misapplied,  and  that  they  are  very  often 
in  unnatural  conflict  with  each  other.  And  society  is 
struggling,  not  too  intelligently,  to  express  in  an  organic 
form  the  quickened  spirit  of  brotherhood  which  is  the 
rich  inheritance  of  this  century.  This  result  of  modern 
development  cannot  safely  be  disregarded,  for  demagogues 
are  only  too  ready  to  make  use  of  it.  But  it  is  entirely 
consistent  with  willingness  to  act  under  sober-minded 
leaders,  if  only  they  are  felt  to  be  promoting  the  develop- 
ment of  a  more  beneficent  social  order. 

A  like  problem  confronted  the  American  statesmen  of 
1787.  But  it  happens  now,  as  then,  that  the  men  of  high 
culture  who  ought  to  be  our  leaders,  are  not  agreed 
among  themselves.  The  service  which  government 
should  get  from  culture,  on  the  intellectual  side,  seems  in 
danger  of  being  sacrificed  in  a  confiict  of  theories.  Thus 
Mr.  Matthew  Arnold,  as  we  have  seen,  finds  the  organ 
''  of  our  collective  best  self,"  or  of  general  culture  of  all 
kinds,  in  the  states,  thus  making  government  paternal. 


150 

It  is  by  such  means  that  Mr.  Arnold  would  save  us  from 
anarchy.  But  Mr.  Spencer  and  other  very  able  men, 
like  M.  Taine  in  France,  and  Professor  Sumner  in  this 
country,  assert  that  the  state  ought  not  to  take  care 
of  the  citizen  ;  that  it  is  a  great  deal  better  for  him  and 
for  society  that  he  should  take  care  of  himself ;  and  that 
continual  meddling  with  private  business  by  public 
functionaries,  even  if  it  could  secure  order  would  destroy 
freedom.  To  such  writers  the  present  drift  toward 
paternal  government  is  reactionary,  it  is  intensely  un- 
English,  and  more  intensely  un-American.  Government, 
they  say,  does  its  full  duty  when  it  protects  the  citizen  in 
minding  his  own  business.  This  protection  it  ought  to 
give  more  effectively  than  it  does  now,  but  it  should  also 
pay  greater  respect  to  personal  liberty.  Whether  a 
practical  reconciliation  between  the  paternal  and  laissez- 
faire  theories  be  possible  or  not,  it  is  certain  that,  for 
good  or  ill,  both  do  often  influence  state  action  at  one 
and  the  same  time  ;  and  that  the  adherents  of  both  differ 
somewhat  among  themselves  as  to  the  limit  of  their  ap- 
plication. This  controversy,  like  so  many  others,  must 
in  the  long  run  settle  itself.  Both  parties  are  the  friends 
of  freedom  and  order  combined,  and  combined  in  stable 
though  not  rigidly  fixed  institutions.  Both  cherish  very 
nearly  the  same  ideal  of  a  perfect  society,  the  goal  of 
social  progress. 

I  need  not  remind  you  that  there  have  been  long 
periods  when  men  could  hardly  think  of  the  state  with- 
out thinking  of  that  which  in  their  eyes  completed  and 
preserved  it,  the  church.  The  church  is  historically  an 
organ  of  culture,  as  defined  by  Mr.  Arnold,  and  the 
sphere  of  that  evolution  of  which  I  have  spoken  as 
passing  through  its  Protestant,  Puritan,  and  Evangelical 
stages.  It  does  not  threaten  liberty,  for  its  ideal  is  free 
action  under  purely  spiritual  influences,  and  to  this  ideal 
it  is  rigidly  held  in  America.  The  mistakes  of  the 
church  have  been  manifold,  and  the  result  of  its  eighteen 


151 

centuries  of  effort  may  seem  scanty.  This  slow  rate  of 
progress  has  made  a  strong  impression  on  Mr.  Herbert 
Spencer,  stronger  perhaps  than  is  reasonable,  when  one 
considers  the  enormous  periods  which  he  requires  for  his 
own  operations.  He,  therefore,  expects  little  from  the 
church  or  from  Christianity.  But  Mr.  Arnold,  who  is 
nearly  as  enterprising  a  theologian  as  Mr.  Spencer,  is 
disposed  on  the  contrary  to  think  rather  highJy  of  it,  and 
has  even  pleaded  in  England  for  the  established  church. 
And  Professor  Seeley,  who  regrets  that  culture  does  not 
call  itself  religion,  seems  to,  believe  that  the  very  ex- 
istence of  civilization  almost  depends  on  the  possibility 
of  embracing  within  the  church  the  "  vast  communion 
of  all  who  are  inspired  by  the  culture  and  civilization  of 
the  age."  If  this  be  practicable  we  apparently  have 
precisely  that  social  organization  which  we  are  in  search  of, 
one  which  by  harmoniously  combining  the  good  elements 
of  society  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole,  gives  unity  and 
stability  to  the  whole,  in  its  form  of  the  state,  and  makes 
culture,  in  its  complete  threefold  operation,  the  safeguard 
of  government.  But  his  ideal  can  never  become  a 
reality,  as  he  presents  it.  One  great  office  of  his  church 
of  the  future  would  seem  to  be,  to  prove  to  the  enemies 
of  civilization  that  the  thing  which  they  hate  is  a  good 
thing,  and  to  prove  it  by  preaching  the  doctrine  of 
historical  development,  which  exhibits  the  existing  order 
as  having  come  to  pass  by  a  natural  progress,  and  there- 
fore as  not  to  be  looked  at  malevolently.  But  this  ideal 
church  would  not  be  constituted  by  that  force  which  has 
been  the  life  of  the  historical  church  ;  to  which  we  owe 
the  idea  of  human  brotherhood  in  its  fulness;  and  through 
which  the  best  work  of  Christendom  has  been  done. 

We  have  now  to  take  account  of  another  fact  belong- 
ing to  this  century,  though  perhaps  to  have  its  great 
issues  in  the  next.  The  evolution  of  Anglo-American 
Christianity  did  not  reach  its  limit  in  Evangelicalism. 
A  new  stage  of  development,  logically  following  that,  has 


152 

been  in  progress  under  various  farms  for  more  than  a 
generation,  and  is  coming  to  be  clearly  recognized  as  the 
catholic  movement.  Ecclesiastically  it  proceeds  upon 
the  principle  of  brotherhood,  and  requires  Christians  to 
appear  as  brethren  in  order  that  men  may  become  such. 
It  thus  works  against  sectarianism  and  toward  unity. 
Theologically  it  embodies  the  filial  spirit,  and  concen- 
trates Christianity  upon  the  revelation  of  the  Divine 
Father  in  the  divine  and  human  son.  If  the  new  move- 
ment, on  the  ecclesiastical  side,  shall  have  its  normal  re- 
sult in  uniting  Christians,  the  Church  must  be,  as  never 
before,  the  organ  of  that  truest  culture  which  would 
"present  every  man  perfect,"  and  an  organ  through 
which  so  many  of  the  best  social  forces  would  inevitably 
act,  that  its  action  would  at  once  be  felt  to  be  that  of 
society  itself.  If,  on  the  theological  side,  it  reconciles  to 
the  Church  good  men  who  have  been  alienated,  society 
should  become  invincible,  for  none  but  the  base  could 
continue  to  be  its  enemies.  Here  Hebraism  and  Hellen- 
ism, as  far  as  they  are  not  yet  fully  one,  may  be  at  peace; 
the  court  of  the  Gentiles  need  not  seem  to  be  besieging 
the  court  of  Israel.  The  old  question  of  church  and 
state  is  still  a  living  one  for  culture,  which  needs  for  its 
service  of  the  state  just  such  an  organ  as  the  church  is 
striving  to  become.  And  when  men  of  culture  perceive 
that  as  soon  as  we  try  to  do  without  the  supernatural, 
"pessimism  raises  its  head,"  and  when  they  are  tempted 

to  feel  that 

" The  world 

Hath  really  neither  joy,  nor  love,  nor  light, 
Nor  certitude;  nor  peace,  nor  help  for  pain," 
they  may  be  thankful  to  have  those  near  them  who  are 
not  afraid  of  the  ugly  goblin,  because  their  world  holds 
an  immortal  Man. 

But  the  socialistic  method  disregards  the  inward  work- 
ing and  trusts  to  a  Pharisaic  cleansing  of  the  outside  of 
the  cup  and  platter.  It  attempts  a  great  moral  revolu- 
tion by  mere  changes  in  institutions.     And  institutions 


r 


153 

which  have  in  America  been  proved  to  be  both  morally 
and  intellectually  helpful,  are  to  be  recklessly  over- 
turned. The  free  citizen  is  to  be  buried  under  a  vast 
machinery  of  administration.  And  the  tone  of  many  rev- 
olutionists points  to  an  official  class  with  the  qualifica- 
tions of  slave-drivers.  Socialists  have  sometimes  found 
their  ideal  in  Sparta,  and  reasonably  enough  if  we  think 
only  of  the  helots,  the  serfs  of  the  state.  But  they  need 
not  look  so  far  back.  The  type  of  the  ruler  who  takes 
from  the  toil  of  hand  or  brain  the  fruits  of  toil,  and  so 
stifles  industry  and  intelligence  together,  is  not  the 
heroic  Spartan  but  the  "unspeakable  Turk."  The  pas- 
sion on  which  socialism,  often  unconsciously,  depends 
to  incite  the  multitude  to  wholesale  plunder  is  that  igno- 
ble one  which  can  bear  no  superiority  in  anything,  and 
which  has  its  counterpart  in  the  spirit  of  those  Hebrew 
demagogues  who  would  neither  go  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  themselves,  nor  suffer  them  that  were  entering  to 
go  in.  Of  course  the  envy  which  does  not  shirk  from 
robbery  need  not  shirk  from  murder,  and  murder  is 
recommended  by  some  and  excused  by  others  as  an  in- 
strument of  the  socialistic  revolution. 

Against  the  undeniable  evils  of  which  socialists  com- 
plain, the  forces  of  civilization  are  always  in  the  field,  and 
are  growing  more  effective.  Such  evils  as  disregard  of 
public  duty,  indifference  to  the  general  welfare,  selfish 
enjoyment  of  inherited  wealth  by  those  who  do  nothing 
for  society,  are  confronted  by  Christianity  with  the 
thorough  going  radicalism  of  the  New  Testament,  "Ye 
are  not  your  own."  This  principle  creates  a  trust  which 
embraces  far  more  than  a  rich  man's  money,  putting  all 
that  all  men  have,  and  all  that  they  are,  at  the  service  of 
humanity. 

Over  against  the  socialist,  menacing  good  government 
with  wild  schemes  for  making  it  better,  stands  the 
anarchist,  eager  to  overturn  all  government.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  because  he  hates  peace  and  order,  but  because 


154 

in  his  view  external  authority  stands  in  the  way  of  peace 
and  order.  His  ideal  is  that  condition  in  which  all  men 
shall  do  what  is  wise  and  right  without  constraint.  The 
"  Federalist  "  says  that  "  if  men  were  angels  no  govern- 
ment would  be  necessary,"  and  styles  government  "the 
greatest  of  all  reflections  on  human  nature."  The  end- 
less peace  which  comes  when  life  thrills  everyw^here  with 
the  life  of  God  because  God  is  "  all  in  all,"  is  far  more 
than  our  modern  anarchist  dreams  of,  but  his  dream  of 
freedom  has  its  best  interpretation  in  the  words  with 
which  we  follow  up  our  petition  for  the  kingdom,  "Thy 
will  be  done  in  earth,  as  it  is  in  Heaven." 

But  once  more,  with  incredible  blindness,  the  inward 
working  which  culture  and  Christianity  enjoin,  is  disre- 
garded, and  outward  changes  are  relied  on  to  transform 
character.  Though  the  cherished  ideal  "  has  been  slowly 
elaborated  by  the  untold  generations  of  our  race," 
development  can  not  be  trusted  to  bring  the  reality.  The 
unripe  fruit  is  to  be  torn  from  the  tree  ;  or,  rather,  the 
tree  itself  is  to  be  cut  down  that  the  fruit,  hardly  more 
than  blossoming,  may  form  and  ripen  on  dead  boughs. 
Our  gentle  anarchist  does  not  tell  us  what  would  be  the 
fate  in  the  reign  of  terror  with  which  anarchy  must 
begin,  (and  with  which  it  would  surely  end,)  of  those 
"  admirable  beings  whose  lives  are  passed,"  as  he  con- 
fesses, in  tasks  of  "  exquisite  benevolence."  Such  is  his 
pathetic  faith  in  human  nature  that  he  expects  men  to 
grow  into  angels  by  acting  like  fiends,  and  calmly  entrusts 
the  conversion  of  the  world  to  the  devil. 

That  human  government  makes  terrible  mistakes  is 
granted  by  those  who  expect  most  from  it,  like  Mr. 
Arnold.  But  culture  is  training  men  for  absolute  self- 
government,  and  Christianity  offers  them  a  "  service  " 
which  "  is  perfect  freedom,"  and  the  Christian  church  at 
its  worst  wa«  the  one  power  which  tyrants  were  afraid  of. 
We  may  fail  *to  check  the  onset  of  the  "red  revolu- 
tion "  with  all  our  use  of  right  reason  and  sound  morality 


155 

and  brotherly  feeling.     Christ  Himself  did  not  so  cure 
the  madness  of  the  Hebrew  revolutionists. 

Our  academic  semi-centennial  is  a  truer  jubilee  for  the 
witness  which  it  bears  to  the  value  of  "  soul-liberty." 
When  fifty  years  ago  civil  government  in  Ohio  gave  this 
institution  its  charter,  the  gift  included  release  from  state 
intervention.  Tne  young  college  sought  and  has  richly 
repaid  the  sympathy  of  the  church,  but  the  church  has 
had  no  authority  within  its  walls.  Capital  has  served  it 
unselfishly,  using  its  own  force  of  disciplined  intelligence 
in  guarding  the  material  interests  of  the  college,  but 
leaving  the  guardians  of  its  nobler  interests  untram- 
meled.  Labor  received  here  at  the  outset  the  fullest 
recognition  as  a  ''true  yoke-fellow"  of  thought,  and  when 
the  tie  ceased  to  be  compulsory,  neither  had  been  dishon- 
ored, but  thought  had  made  another  gain  in  freedom. 
The  state  and  the  church,  capital  and  labor,  have  united 
here  in  the  enfranchisement  of  the  mind.  But  there  is 
another  chain  which  might  fetter  it.  The  late  Professor 
Guyot  once  replied  to  a  student  in  theology  who  had 
asked  him  what  would  come  of  a  rather  startling  discov- 
ery: ''Something  very  fine  will  come  of  it;  we  must  not 
be  afraid  of  the  truth."  No  ;  for  that  fear  would  make 
the  soul  the  hopeless  slave  of  error.  And  yet  the  truth 
might  be  unspeakably  awful ;  if  the  pessimists  are  right, 
it  is  so,  and  we  must  be  afraid  of  it.  It  is  that  genuine, 
thorough  culture  which  leads  us  towards  a  total  perfection 
by  the  development  of  heart  and  conscience  along  with 
intellect,  that  delivers  from  this  enslaving  fear.  For 
then  with  the  soul's  clear  vision  of  the  true  is  blended  its 
vision  of  the  beautiful  and  the  good,  and  of  that  in  which 
they  subsist  together,  the  life,  the  all-enfolding  life  of  the 
Living  God.  As  one  of  our  brotherhood,  Professor  How- 
ison,  of  the  University  of  California,  has  recently  said, 
"Truth  that  does  not  include  good  and  beauty  is  only  the 
fragment  of  truth."  Our  very  love  of  truth,  then,  should 
prompt  us  to  keep  the  conscience  pure  and  the  heart  warm. 


156 

A  few  months  ago  our  instructor  in  Hellenism  did  pub- 
lic honor  in  behalf  of  art  to  a  Christian  minister  who  is 
using   art   and   science  as   aids  to   religion  among   the 
"sunken  multitudes"  of  East  London.     And  years  before 
the  sight  of  another  toiling  there  with  Christ,  inspired 
him  to  tell  us  how  the  lamp  of  sacrifice  shed  both  light 
and  sweetness,  and  guides  us  towards  perfection. 
"Oh,  human  soul !  as  long  as  thou  canst  so 
Set  up  a  mark  of  everlasting  light 
Above  the  howling  senses'  ebb  and  flow, 
To  cheer  thee,  and  to  right  thee  if  thou  roam. 
Not  with  lost  toil  thou  labourest  through  the  night ! 
Thou  mak'st  the  hieaven  thou  hop'st  indeed  thy  home !  "  * 


*In  November,  1884,  a  mosaic  copy  of  Watts'  painting  of  "Time,  Death 
and  Judgment,"  was  placed  on  the  street-front  of  St.  Jude's,  White 
Chapel,  in  recognition  of  the  effort  of  the  vicar,  the  Rev,  S.  A.  Barnett, 
"to  make  the  lives  of  his  neighbors  brighter  by  bringing  within  their 
reach  the  influence  of  beauty,"  and  Mr.  Arnold  delivered  an  address. 
The  lines  above  quoted  are  from  his  "East  London,"  in  the  New  Poems. 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  ALUMNI. 

THE  COUNTRY'S  PERIL. 

BY   HON.   JOHN   F.   FOLLETT,   LL.   D. 


The  distinguished  honor  of  addressing  you,  upon  this 
semi-centennial  anniversary  of  our  beloved  Alma  Mater, 
I  duly  appreciate  and  for  this  honor  I  thank  you. 

There  are  occasions  when  we  are  compelled  by  reason 
of  our  surroundings,  by  the  situation  in  which  we  are 
placed,  to  review  the  past  and  forecast  the  future,  to  con- 
sider whence  we  came  and  whither  we  are  going.  This 
is  such  an  occasion  in  the  life  and  progress  of  this  college 
and  of  the  country.  I  do  but  repeat  that  which  you  all 
know  and  have  often  thought  of  and  expressed,  that  the 
fifty  years  of  the  life  of  Marietta  College  have  accom- 
plished more  in  the  progress  of  the  human  race,  in  the 
development  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  of  tliose  discoveries 
and  inventions  which  are  useful,  beautiful,  pleasing,  and 
attractive,  than  any  preceding  century.  But  it  is  one  of 
the  misfortunes  incident  to  human  life  that  good  and 
evil  are  so  blended  together,  so  inseparably  and  indis- 
solubly  connected,  that  the  greatest  good,  the  choicest 
blessings,  bring  woes  and  curses  in  their  train.  While 
human  experience  has  shown  that  our  sorest  trials  are 
often  ''  blessings  in  disguise,"  it  has  also  taught  us  that 
often  what  we  esteem  our  chief  good,  our  supreme  bless- 
ings, are  in  reality  the  worst  and  most  to  be  deplored  of 
all  evils. 


158 

Our  institutions  of  learning,  the  stimulus  there  im- 
parted to  the  activity  and  development  of  the  intellectual 
faculties  and  inventive  genius,  have  done  more  than  all 
other  instrumentalities  and  agencies  combined  to  effect 
the  marvelous  transformations  of  the  half  century  just 
past. 

And  now,  my  brothers,  the  grave  question  for  us  to  an- 
swer is,  are  we  as  a  people,  is  the  country  and  is  the  hu- 
man family  in  a  condition  more  desirable,  more  condu- 
cive to  happiness  and  general  welfare  than  fifty  years 
ago  ?  Are  we  advancing  toward  the  millennial  state,  or 
is  the  apparent  splendor  of  which  we  boast  but  the  phos- 
phorescent glow  of  a  decaying,  decomposing  body  ?  Are 
there  no  breakers  ahead  upon  which  the  ship  of  state 
may  be  dashed  and  wrecked  ?  Can  the  patriot  now  fold 
his  arms  in  security,  assured  that  all  is  well  ?  Can  the 
statesman  who  has  devoted  years  of  patient,  persistent 
struggle  and  energetic  toil  to  advance  the  best  interests 
and  promote  the  general  welfare  of  the  country,  in  grate- 
ful thanks  and  adoration  to  Him  who  controls  the  desti- 
nies of  nations,  in  gratitude,  praise,  and  thanksgiving, 
say,  **  Now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation  ?  "  I  am  sure  that  all 
honest,  thoughtful,  observing,  patriotic,  educated  men 
must  feel  alarm  and  apprehension  at  the  outlook  for  the 
future,  and,  laying  aside  all  selfish,  sectional,  and  partisan 
considerations,  we  should  earnestly  enquire,  what  are  the 
diseases  of  the  body  politic  and  how  can  they  be  remedied? 

The  first  and  most  alarming  evil  that  threatens  our 
beloved  country,  is  corruption  and  bribery. 
.  The  thoughtful  reader  of  the  history  of  the  Roman 
Republic  for  some  time  preceding  the  establishment  of 
the  Empire,  will  find  such  a  similarity  to  the  history  we 
are  now  making  as  compels  the  inquiry.  Is  history  re- 
peating itself?  Offices  were  purchased  in  the  open 
market ;  officials  who  had  purchased  their  positions 
bartered  the  power  and  influence  thus  obtained,  appro- 


159 

priated  to  themselves  the  lands,  the  money,  the  wealth, 
and  resources  of  the  Government. 

Patriotism,  purity,  virtue,  honor,  integrity,  self-respect, 
every  attribute  that  fits  men  for  freedom  and  makes  the 
existence  and  continuance  of  self-government  possible, 
perished  under  the  blighting,  noxious  influence  of  uni- 
versal corruption.  The  favorite  leaders  were  those  who 
were  best  able  to  bestow  and  did  most  liberally  bestow 
wealth,  power,  and  patronage.  Wars  were  waged  and  con- 
quests made  in  order  that  the  fruits  of  conquest,  the  spoils, 
lands,  and  captives  held  as  slaves,  might  be  distributed  to 
the  followers  of  the  military  leaders,  and  he  ranked  first 
whose  conquests  were  greatest  and  who  most  enriched 
his  partisans  and  followers. 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at,  then,  that  when  a  military 
genius  like  Caesar  with  his  army  of  hardy  and  disciplined 
followers,  including  the  noblest  and  best  citizens  of  Rome, 
had  overrun  and  conquered  the  fairest,  best,  and  most 
productive  part  of  Europe,  and  the  nation  witnessed  in 
his  triumphal  processions  the  pride,  beauty,  and  manhood 
of  Europe  and  the  world,  and  spoils  unsurpassed  in 
variety  and  magnificence  to  be  bestowed  upon  the  army, 
together  with  the  productive  lands  conquered  by  those 
invincible  forces,  that  the  spirit  of  liberty,  the  love  of 
freedom,  should  have  disappeared  and  the  Republic  given 
place  to  an  Empire  with  Ca3sar  at  its  head  ? 

The  corrupting  influences  of  politics  and  the  uncer- 
tainty and  unreliability  of  politicians  are  alleged  and  be- 
lieved to  be  general  if  not  universal,  but  who  can  deny 
that  politics  and  politicians  are  just  what  the  voters  would 
have  them  be,  and  are  the  sure  and  certain  reflectors  of 
the  character  and  desires  of  the  people.  It  is  but  natural 
that  men  and  parties,  coveting  and  seeking  positions  of 
responsibility  and  power,  should  desire  success,  and  how- 
ever much  judgment  and  conscience  may  condemn,  they 
will  resort  to  those  methods  and  adopt  those  practices 
that  are  most  likely  to  enable  them  to  succeed.     The  time 


160 

was  when  an  attempt  to  purchase  a  vote,  whether  such 
attempt  were  made  by  direct  or  indirect  means,  would 
have  been  resented  generally,  if  not  universally,  by  the 
voters  of  this  country,  as  a  personal  insult  that  it  would 
be  mild  to  characterize  as  an  outrage,  but  now  little  at- 
tempt is  made  to  conceal  the  traffic,  each  campaign  be- 
ing characterized  by  earnest,  persistent  appeals  to  party 
friends  and  supporters  for  money,  fitly  denominated  in 
such  contests  as  we  now  witness,  as  the  ''sinews  of  war." 
Men  holding  positions  of  public  trust,  presumably  for  the 
benefit  of  all  concerned,  so  administer  their  offices  as  to 
make  them  auction  blocks  for  the  sale  of  shoddy  politi- 
cal goods.  A  poar  individual  who  has  a  claim  against 
the  Government  honestly  and  hardly  earned,  the  pay- 
ment of  which  has  been  long  and  shamelessly  denied, 
just  before  an  election,  is  told  that  there  is  a  way  by 
which  his  claim  can  be  favorably  considered  at  once  ;  all 
that  is  required  is  that  he  vote  right  at  the  election,  and 
then  justice  so  long  delayed  will  be  meted  out  in  his 
case.  Patriotism  has  compelled  the  making  of  liberal 
provision  for  our  wounded  and  disabled  soldiers,  but  the 
poor  unfortunates  who  apply  for  pensions  find  no  means 
effectual  to  hasten  the  consideration  of  their  applications, 
until  an  election  is  impending,  when  they  are  taught 
that  if  they  vote  as  they  are  desired  to  do  by  those  whose 
official  duty  it  is  to  decide  upon  their  claims,  the  merit 
of  their  claims  will  be  made  to  appear  at  once  and  zeal 
will  no  longer  wait  upon  discretion  in  the  allowance  of 
such  claims.  Distress,  want,  suffering,  and  misery  are 
powerful  and  at  times  irresistible  incentives  to  crime, 
and  we  may  often  find  it  in  our  hearts  to  offer  apologies 
for  the  tempted,  but  for  the  tempter  our  anathemas 
should  be  thereby  intensified. 

We  can  but  sympathize  with  the  crippled  soldier,  hav>. 
ing  a  family  dependent  upon  him  for  support,  who  sella 
his  vote  for  the  pension  which  will  keep  himself  and 
family  from  beggary  and   want,  but  the    government 


161 

official  who  so  prostitutes  his  sacred  trust  deserves  only 
the  most  fervent  and  bitter  execrations.  But  who  can 
measure  the  depths  of  the  detestation  every  honest  patriot 
and  lover  of  his  country  must  feel  for  him  who  procures 
the  deposit  of  purchased  votes  in  the  ballot  box,  at  an 
election  held  by  a  free  people,  or  for  the  official  who  pro- 
cures a  position  of  public  trust  through  corruption,  bri- 
bery, and  the  violation  of  criminal  law. 

Many,  very  many  of  those  who  occupy  positions  of 
public  trust  and  honor,  presumably  as  the  choice  of  a 
free  people,  whose  wishes  were  expressed  at  an  honest, 
fair,  untainted  election,  would,  if  they  had  their  just  de- 
serts, be  expiating  their  crimes  at  some  penal  institution. 
Well  may  the  patriot  tremble  and  the  lover  of  free  gov- 
ernment and  free  institutions  cry  out  in  alarm  at  the 
rapidly  increasing  numbei  of  those  who  are  ready  to  bar- 
ter the  dearest  heritage  of  the  citizen.  Often  it  is  sold 
for  less  than  the  price  of  a  sheep  or  calf,  either  of  which  is 
more  deserving  of  citizenship  than  such  a  voter,  who 
usually  has  nothing  he  can  barter  save  his  vote.  The 
number  of  these  vile  creatures,  these  ready,  willing  crim- 
inals, is  now  large  and  alarmingly  increasing.  They  and 
those  who  traffic  in  such  votes  as  theirs,  are  the  thieves 
in  our  temple  of  liberty,  and  every  honest  patriot  should 
lash  them  out  with  a  scourge  of  scorpions. 

But  here,  as  in  most  other  instances  of  flagrant  wrong 
and  violation  of  law,  we  are  appalled  and  our  hands  are 
stayed  when  raised  to  inflict  the  merited  punishment,  by 
the  stern  rebuke,  "  Let  him  who  is  without  sin  cast  the 
first  stone  "  Men  calling  themselves  respectable  and 
honorable,  who  move  in  circles  far  above  the  common  rab- 
ble, who  feel  a  holy  horror  at  the  thought  of  corruption 
at  the  ballot  box,  who  would  recoil  aghast  if  themselves 
approached  with  a  proposition  to  buy  their  votes,  will  will- 
ingly and  cheerfully,  at  the  request  of  party  leaders,  con- 
tribute their  money  to  buy  the  votes  of  others,  will  pledge 
the  power  and  patronage  incident  to  success,  and  will  hold 


162 

the  cup  brim  full  of  corruption  most  vile  and  deadly  to 
the  lips  of  others.  Business  men,  professional  men, 
teachers  of  morality  and  religion,  sustain,  encourage,  and 
make  possible  these  blighting,  corrupting  agencies  in  the 
body  politic.  The  legislative  halls  in  all  parts  of  our 
country  are  infested  with  human  yultures,  having  a  quick 
eye  and  a  keen  scent  for  putridity  and  corruption,  known 
as  lobbyists,  who  are  employed  and  paid  by  men  of  pro- 
fessed respectability  to  do  work  which  they  would  them- 
selves scorn  to  do,  forgetting  the  maxim,  Qui  facit  per 
alium  facit  per  se.  The  idea  seems  to  be  prevalent  in  our 
best  social  and  business  life  that  every  man  has  his  price, 
and  that  to  buy  him  is  simply  a  matter  of  business  in 
which  none  but  the  parties  are  concerned,  provided  the 
matter  is  kept  from  the  public.  If  certain  legislation  can 
be  procured,  he  will  be  benefitted  to  the  amount  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars.  Why  should  he  not  give,  contingent 
upon  its  passage,  a  portion  of  the  profits  he  will  derive  to 
influential  legislators  and  thus  promote  its  success?  A 
skillful  man  may  present  cogent  arguments  in  favor  of 
the  most  iniquitous  measure,  the  careless  unthinking 
public  may  not  be  able  to  discriminate  between  patriot- 
ism and  perfidy,  between  a  public  benefit  and  selfish, 
personal  rapacity,  and  thus  for  a  sufficient  consideration 
the  legislator  is  willing  to  take  the  risks  of  most  detesta- 
ble and  degrading  crime,  and  his  procurer  receives  the 
lion's  share  of  the  profits  and  thanks  God  that  he  is  not 
corrupt  like  other  men  and  especially  like  legislators  and 
politicians. 

Within  the  life  of  ^this  college  few  if  any  could  have 
been  found  to  defend  or  even  tolerate  methods  and  prac- 
tices now  generally  resorted  to  to  carry  elections  or  se- 
cure legislation.  When  the  Credit  Mobilier  scandal  was 
investigated  in  Congress  and  the  exposure  made  of  those 
who  were  connected  with  it,  the  men  implicated  were  de- 
nounced most  bitterly  and  almost  universally  condemned. 
So  severe  and  universal  was  this  denunciation,  that  one 


163 

of  the  parties  involved  had  a  conscience  sufficiently  sen- 
sitive and  active  to  cause  him  to  die  of  a  broken  heart, 
but  if  any  one  of  the  others  suffered  at  all,  or  was  per- 
manently injured  in  his  character  or  reputation,  such 
fact  is  not  publicly  known. 

To  the  originator  and  author  of  the  scheme,  the  man 
who  placed  its  stock  where  it  would  do  the  most  good, 
an  imposing  monument  has  been  erected  at  the  highest 
point  on  the  Rocky  Mountains  upon  the  line  of  the  Pacif- 
ic Railroad.  Upon  others  the  nation's  honors  have  been 
bestowed  with  lavish  prodigality,  until  we  are  compelled 
to  admit  that  bribery  and  corruption,  not  righteousness, 
exalteth  the  legislator  until  he  becomes  the  model,  ideal 
statesman.  When  this  blot  upon  national  honor,  this 
poison  to  public  virtue,  was  first  revealed  in  all  its 
hideous  deformity,  all  men  in  whom  a  sense  of  honpr  ex- 
isted, recoiled  with  horror  at  the  contemplation  of  the 
crime  and  those  involved  in  its  , perpetration,  but  soon 
for  them  apologists  appeared,  then  defenders,  then  ap- 
plauders.  Experience  has  taught  that  a  certificate  of 
Credit  Mohilier  stock  is  a  passport  to  highest  honors  and 
most  responsible  public  positions  of  trust.  Remorse 
crushed  only  one  of  the  perpetrators  of  the  great  wrong, 
while  thousands  seeing  the  success  that  has  followed 
them,  strive  to  follow  in  the  path  they  marked  ojiit.  I 
allude  to  this  only  as  an  example  of  the  many  evils  that 
have  crept  into  and  became  a  part  of  our  public  life,  and 
with  which  we  have  become  so  lamiliar  that  they  have 
ceased  to  terrify  us. 

"Vice  is  a  monster  of  such  frightful  mien, 
That  to  be  hated  needs  but  to  be  seen, 
But  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  its  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace." 

Corporate  bodies,  aggregated  wealth,  managed  and 
controlled  by  men  of  ability  and  business  capacity  and 
experience,  anxious  to  succeed  and  unscrupulous  as  to 
the  methods  employed,  have  been  the  chief  agents  and 


164 

instrumentalities  in  degrading  public  morals  and  lower- 
ing the  standard  of  public  virtue.  Alive  to  the  impor- 
tance of  friendly  legislation  and  caring  little  by  what 
means  it  is  secured,  they  first  select  as  candidates  such 
men  as  will  be  allied  to  them  from  interest  or  principle, 
and  failing  in  this,  such  men  as  are  known  to  be  suscep- 
tible to  the  persuading  influences  of  the  lobby  with  its 
known  devices  and  practices.  Having  secured  the  nom- 
ination of  such  a  man  as  is  desifed,  no  expense  is  spared 
and  no  artifice  neglected  that  will  conduce  to  success. 

Money  has  not  brains,  but  it  can  and  does  command 
them,  and  monopolies  are  organized  and  perpetuated  by 
men  of  eminent  sagacity  and  talent,  whose  sole  study 
and  care  is  to  lose  no  advantage  gained  and  grasp  as 
much  more  as  is  possible.  Like  the  children  of  the 
horse-leech,  their  cry  is  ever,  give!  give!  With  them  the 
lust  of  wealth,  the  greed  of  gain,  is  insatiate,  and  in  its 
pursuit,  honor,  conscience,  virtue,  patriotism  aie  worth- 
less delusions,  and  woe  be  to  him  who  dare  urge  any 
one  of  these  in  opposing  their  demands.  They  never 
forget  or  forgive  him  who  dares  be  honest  and  obeys  his 
conscience  in  the  performance  of  official  duty.  At  the 
first  opportunity  such  a  man  is  off'ered  up  as  a  sacrifice 
to  their  Moloch.  Ambitious  men  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  have  learned  that  they  must  either  worship  at 
the  shrine  of  this  monster  or  be  overwhelmed  by  its,  at 
present,  irresistible  force.  Where  are  the  statesmen  who 
have  been  characterized  by  unflinching  integrity  and 
unfaltering  courage  in  the  discharge  of  their  official 
duties?  Retired  to  private  life  and  their  places  filled  by 
those  who  are  ready  to  yield  unquestioned  obedience  to 
their  discoverers  and  their  masters.  Who  that  has  at 
heart  the  honor  and  welfare  of  the  country  can  but  be 
pained  as  he  contrasts  the  men  who  occupy  seats  in  the 
highest  branch  of  the  legislative  department  of  the  Gov- 
ernment with  those  who  occupied  them  in  the  days  when 
brains,  not  wealth,  was  considered  the  requisite  qualifi- 


165 

cation  tor  such  distinction,  when  honor,  honesty,  and 
capacity  were  the  essential  elements  of  statesmanship  ? 
The  lawyers,  stockholders,  and  managers  of  corporations, 
the  representatives  of  monopolies,  and  men  whose  seats 
have  been  procured  by  the  most  shameless,  unblushing 
use  of  money,  are  largely  in  the  ascendant  in  that  au- 
gust tribunal.     How  are  the  mighty  fallen  ! 

Well  may  the  intelligent  patriot  stand  appalled  at  the 
responsibilities  resting  upon  him  and  from  which  he  can 
not  escape.  If  the  problem  of  self-government  is  not 
satisfactorily  solved  by  us,  its  solution  will  never  again 
be  attempted.  We  undertook  its  solution  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances  possible.  We  are  descended 
from  those  who  preferred  a  home  in  the  wilderness  and 
the  companionship  of  savages  with  freedom  of  conscience 
and  personal  liberty,  to  the  abodes  of  civilization  where 
they  were  subjected  to  offensive  espionage  and  restraints. 
The  descendants  of  such  men,  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
their  fathers,  were  peculiarly  qualified  for  the  work  of 
establishing  a  free,  constitutional  government  that  should 
be  a  model  for  all  people  and  all  ages.  Such  a  govern- 
ment they  gave  us,  blending  the  greatest  freedom  with 
the  most  wholesome  restraints,  the  amplest  exercise  of 
personal  liberty  with  strong,  healthy  conservatism.  Its 
ability  to  withstand  assaults  from  without  or  within  has 
been  thoroughly  tested  and  completely  exemplified.  It 
has  no  inherited  weakness  and  to  insure  its  perpetuity  it 
is  only  necessary  to  stop  the  spread  of  this  gangrene  of 
corruption  before  it  reaches  a  vital  part.  To  this  grand 
and  noble  work,  men  of  thought  and  men  of  action, 
earnest,  educated  freemen,  who  would  deserve,  retain, 
and  transmit  their  freedom,  must  address  themselves  with 
a  courage  and  pertinacity  that  will  not  recognize  or 
endure  defeat. 

The  people  being  the  source  of  all  power,  and  suffrage 
being  generally,  almost  universally  extended,  the  remedy 
for  all  diseases  of  the  body  politic  must  be  there  applied. 


166 

To  cleanse  and  purify  our  legislative  halls  we  must  apply 
the  scrubbing  brush  and  disinfectants  to  the  voters  who 
make  legislators.  To  make  public  officers  realize  the  fact 
that  they  do  but  administer  a  public  trust,  they  should 
be  taught  that  any  deviation  from  the  strict  line  of  duty 
will  bring  upon  them  speedy  and  certain  retribution.  If 
the  fountain  is  polluted  with  the  infusoria  of  corruption, 
the  streams  that  flow  therefrom  must  be  alike  tainted. 

The  natural  instinctive  leaning  of  the  masses  of  the 
people  is  in  the  direction  of  purity  and  right.  In  the 
expressed  wishes  and  will  of  the  majority,  all  promptly 
and  cheerfully  acquiesce.  The  great  body  of  our  people 
demand  the  enforcement  of  law  and  to  it  yield  obedience. 
But  here  as  elsewhere,  to  the  great  body  of  the  people 
life  is  a  continuous,  unremitting  struggle  for  existence, 
and  necessity  compels  the  doing  of  many  things  which 
judgment  and  conscience  condemn.  The  introduction 
and  general  use  of  labor-saving  machinery  upon  our 
farms  as  well  as  in  our  manufactories  and  workshops, 
has  seriously  injured  the  laboring  people  of  the  country, 
and  thousands  of  those  willing  and  anxious  to  work  are 
continuously  out  of  employment  and  their  families  on 
the  verge  of  starvation.  When  employed,  it  is  generally 
true  that  the  laborer  does  not  receive  his  proper  share  of 
the  fruits  of  his  labor,  and  hence  to  obtain  the  necessaries 
of  life  is  with  him  a  constant  struggle.  Thus  circum- 
stanced they  are  an  easy  prey  for  unscrupulous,  designing 
men,  who  for  selfish  ends  would  sacrifice  country  and 
posterity.  In  their  necessities  present  relief  overshadows 
and  completely  obscures  future  good.  The  vote  of  such 
a  man  goes  just  as  far  and  counts  just  as  much  upon  the 
poll  and  tally-sheet  as  that  of  any  other  man,  and  this 
they  know  who  desire  benefits  at  the  expense  of  the  public. 

The  greatest  crime  that  can  be  committed  in  a  free 
government,  a  government  ''of  the  people,  by  the  people, 
and  for  the  people,"  is  that  act,  whatever  it  may  be,  which 
interferes  with  or  prevents  a  free  and  honest  expression 


167 

of  the  will  of  the  people  at  the  ballot-box.  We  have 
laws  which,  were  they  enforced,  would  prevent  the  con- 
tinued perpetration  of  this  flagrant  crime,  at  the  enormity 
of  which  every  conscientious  man  revolts. 

The  educated  men  of  the  country  are  largely  responsi- 
ble for  the  lowering  of  the  standard  of  public  morality 
which  now  so  seriously  threatens  the  continued  existence 
of  our  free  institutions.  The  masses  look  to  the  educated, 
intellectual  men  of  the  country  as  the  molders  of  public 
sentiment  and  leaders  of  public  opinion.  A  man  of 
prominence,  of  intellectual  ability  and  assuming  to  be 
honorable  and  respectable,  can  exert  an  influence  over 
the  masses  a  hundred  fold  greater  than  that  exerted  by 
one  of  their  own  number.  The  more  ignorant  the  man, 
the  more  easily  influenced.  I  would  not  restrict  or  curtail 
the  right  of  sufl'rage.  Let  this  most  powerful  of  all 
weapons  of  defense  remain  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
from  their  position  and  surroundings  are  most  helpless 
and  defenseless,  but  with  the  right  let  them  be  furnished 
with  the  most  complete  and  ample  protection  in  that 
right.  He  who  by  intimidation  or  corruption,  would 
prevent  the  free,  unrestrained  exercise  of  the  rights  of 
any  legally  qualified  citizen,  is  the  worst  enemy  of  the 
Republic  and  should  be  forever  excluded  from  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  citizenship.  What  American  can  fail 
to  feel  that  he  is  personally  disgraced  at  the  methods 
adopted  in  the  selection  of  delegates  to  our  political  con- 
ventions, especially  in  our  large  cities,  and  at  the  scenes 
witnessed  in  such  political  conventions?  Men  dis- 
tinguished only  for  recklessness,  lawlessness,  or  criminal- 
ity, prepare  a  delegate  ticket  containing  their  own  names 
to  the  requisite  number,  and,  unless  another  is  placed  in 
antagonism  composed  of  men  more  lawless,  reckless,  or 
criminal  than  they,  it  is  sure  to  have  a  sufficient  number 
of  ballots  in  the  box  to  elect  it,  even  if  to  do  so  require  a 
dozen  ballots  to  each  voter  casting  them.  And  why  the 
great  anxiety  to  be  a  delegate  ?    Because  of  the  profit 


168 

there  is  in  it.  Our  best  citizens  are  seldom  seen  at  the 
polls  where  delegates  are  chosen,  leaving  that  most  im- 
portant of  all  the  duties  of  a  citizen  to  those  who  are 
patriotic  solely  from  selfish  and  personal  considerations. 
A  convention  composed  of  such  delegates  could  hardly 
be  expected,  under  any  circumstances,  to  act  wisely  or 
well,  and  while  it  is  true  that  at  times,  as  a  matter  of 
policy  and  expediency,  good  men  may  be  nominated,  as 
a  rule  nominations  go  to  the  highest  bidder  and  men  are 
selected  as  candidates  for  positions  of  public  trust  whose 
unfitness  for  such  positions  is  conclusively  shown  by 
the  methods  resorted  to  in  securing  the  nomination.  It 
is  now  scarcely  regarded  as  wrong  or  disreputable  to 
enter  a  convention  well  provided  with  the  cogent  and 
conclusive  delegate  persuader,  money,  and  the  more 
openly  and  unblushingly  it  is  used,  the  more  certain  is 
success.  He  is  the  greatest  and  most  successful  manipu- 
lator and  most  deserving  of  encomium  and  reward,  who 
can  drive  the  best  bargain  with  delegntions  and  succeed 
with  the  use  of  the  least  money.  I  have  not  overdrawn 
or  too  highly  colored  this  picture.  It  is  one  that  may  be 
witnessed  in  the  city  conventions  of  any  political  party, 
and  especially  of  the  party  in  the  ascendency,  where  a 
nomination  is  presumed  to  be  equivalent  to  an  election. 

As  an  evidence  and  guaranty  of  the  stability,  continu- 
ance, and  strength  of  free  institutions,  who  would  point 
with  pride  and  confidence  to  the  methods  of  conducting 
political  campaigns  in  recent  times,  or  glory  in  the  con- 
duct of  our  elections  as  the  means  of  securing  a  fair  and 
honest  expression  of  the  will  of  the  people  who  have  a 
right  to  be  heard?  An  intelligent  young  Irishman  whom 
I  met  the  evening  after  a  recent  election  in  the  city  where 
I  reside,  said  to  me  :  ''If  what  I  have  witnessed  to-day 
is  a  fair  sample  of  your  elections  and  of  the  practical 
working  of  your  free  institutions,  I  shall  return  to  Ire- 
land contented  and  happy." 

'He  is  the  successful  politician  who  can  most  success- 


169 

fully  prevent  the  honest  expression  of  the  popular  will|| 
Deception,  fraud,  intimidations,  importation  of  voters,' 
organization  of  gangs  of  repeaters,  placing  reckless,  des- 
perate, and  irresponsible  armed  men  at  the  polls  with 
the  badge  of  office  to  do  partisan  work — these  are  some 
of  the  methods  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  securing  offices 
of  public  trust  and  responsibility.  Who  can  wonder  at 
the  contamination  of  the  public  service  ?  To  me  it  is  a 
matter  of  surprise  that  it  is  so  pure  and  free  from  taint. 

To  remedy  these  evils,  to  return  again  to  the  integrity, 
purity,  and  simplicity  of  the  fathers,  will  require  the  earn- 
est, united  efforts  of  all  true,  earnest  men.  I  am  a  parti- 
san and  believe  that  political  parties  are  necessary  and 
beneficial,  but  when  to  be  a  partisan  one  must  be  an 
apologist  and  defender  of  crimes  and  of  criminals,  parti- 
sanship should  be  subordinate  to  patriotism.  We  are  too 
much  inclined  to  adopt  as  our  motto,  ''My  party,  may  it 
always  be  right,  but  my  party  right  or  wrong."  The 
time  has  come  when  there  is  so  little  of  principle  divid- 
ing party  organizations,  that  we  may  safely  adopt  that 
other  and  wiser  and  more  patriotic  motto,  ''My  party, 
may  it  always  be  right,  but  my  party  only  when  in  the 
right."  Let  it  be  known  and  understood  that  in  politics 
as  in  all  other  relations  of  life,  "honesty  is  the  best  policy," 
and  that  the  patriotism  which  subordinates  all  consider- 
ations to  the  country's  welfare  is  an  essential  qualification 
for  public  office.  An  official  who  fears  his  public  or  pri- 
vate record,  who  trembles  at  the  suggestion  of  an  inves- 
tigation, who  attempts  to  evade  the  closest  scrutiny  of 
any  of  his  acts  which  in  any  way  affect  the  public  wel- 
fare, does  not  deserve  the  support  of  any  true  patriot  even 
though  a  zealous  adherent  to  party.  When  selfish,  un- 
scrupulous men  are  taught  that  however  successful  they 
may  be  in  foisting  themselves  upon  the  party  as  candi- 
dates, they  can  not  be  elected,  even  though  their  party 
may  be  in  the  ascendency,  the  inducement  to  fraudulent 
schemes  and  devices  will  be  taken  away. 


170 

There  is  now  a  manifest  and  healthy  tendency  in  many 
parts  of  the  country  to  independent  voting.  The  inde- 
pendent voter  may  be  denounced  and  ridiculed  by  parti- 
sans and  party  organs,  but  it  will  yet  appear  that  to  them 
the  country  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  such  as  is  justly  due 
only  to  its  defenders  and  deliverers.  One  of  the  most 
cheering  and  promising  omens  of  the  future  is  the  fact 
that  there  are  constant  and  steady  acquisitions  to  the 
ranks  of  the  independents.  When  they  shall  have 
become  sufficiently  numerous  to  insure  the  vigorous,  un- 
relenting prosecution  of  those  who  are  guilty  of  bribery, 
fraud,  and  intimidation  at*  our  elections  and  in  our  legis- 
lative halls,  we  may  confidently  expect  the  ushering  in  of 
a  brighter  day  for  the  Republic. 

The  training  we  have  received  in  this  college  fits  us  to 
become  leaders  in  the  great  work  of  reforming  the  abuses 
that  have  crept  into  and  become  a  part  of  our  political 
methods.  To  restore  and  rehabilitate  in  our  public  life, 
our  public  offices  and  legislative  halls,  courageous  and  un- 
flinching virtue,  purity,  integrity,  and  patriotism,  we 
must  teach  those  who  aspire  to  be  the  recipients  of  public 
honors  and  rewards  that  he  who  would  succeed  must 
come  with  clean  hands,  a  pure  record,  and  an  untarnished 
reputation  ;  that  no  criminal,  no  violator  of  law,  and  no 
man  who  obstructs  its  enforcement  shall  ever  be  placed 
in  a  position  where  he  can  either  make  or  expound  the 
law.  Whatever  may  be  the  genius,  the  culture,  the  ability, 
or  the  personal  attractions  of  one  who  in  public  life  has  de- 
viated from  the  known  path  of  duty  and  rectitude,  he  de- 
serves severest  censure,  and  whatever  may  be  our  partisan 
prejudices,  if  we  support  and  encourage  him,we  do  thereby 
endorse  and  popularize  crooked  practices  and  censurable 
methods.  If  we  who  know  the  right  and  falter  in  its  main- 
tenance, if  we  who  can  discriminate  between  good  and  evil, 
hesitate  to  scorn  the  evil  and  to  cleave  only  to  that  which  is 
good,  from  whence  can  we  expect  our  deliverance  to  come? 

It  is,  I  fear,  too  true  that  men  who  have  the  learning 


171 

and  ability  lack  the  courage  to  become  leaders.  We 
palliate  crime  and  apologize  for  the  criminal,  fearing  lest 
an  honest  and  manly  expression  of  well  founded  opinion 
might  prove  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  our  party  or 
its  candidates.  We  are  conscious  of  the  fact  that  the 
only  known  remedy  for  malignant  tumors  is  the  surgeon's 
knife  promptly  applied,  and  yet  we  exhibit  the  hesitation 
and  indecision  characteristic  of  cowards  in  our  treatment 
of  the  cancerous  sores  of  the  body  politic,  If  we,  and 
those  circumstanced  as  we  are,  falter  and  hesitate,  others 
will  do  the  work  and  receive  the  rewards. 

The  longer  I  live  the  more  sincere  and  earnest  is  my 
thanksgiving  to  Him  who  controls  the  destinies  of  men 
and  of  nations,  that  I  have  been  permitted  to  live  in  this 
country  at  this  time  and  participate  in  events  so  pregnant 
with  momentous  results  as  those  of  the  past  few  years 
and  of  the  present.  The  future,  though  to  us  unknown, 
we  can  confidently  predict  will  be  what  we  make  it.  God 
works  through  human  agencies  and  instrumentalities, 
and  in  all  our  past  history  His  hand  can  be  distinctly 
traced  in  bringing  forward  the  right  men  at  the 
right  time  to  work  His  soverign  will.  My  belief  in  a 
glorious  destiny  for  this  country  is  unfaltering.  May  the 
alumni  of  this  college  be  ever  found  steadfast  and 
immovable  in  the  advocacy  and  defense  of  all  measures 
designed  to  establish  and  perpetuate  a  pure  and  incor- 
ruptible public  service,  and  a  clean,  untainted  ballot-box. 
Let  it  not  be  truly  said  of  us  that  we  were  unequal  to  the 
great  work  to  which  we  have  been  called.  Let  the  alumni 
celebrating  this  semi-centennial  annniversary  enter  upon 
this  grand  and  noble  work  with  such  zeal,  ardor,  and 
enthusiasm  that  those  who  celebrate  the  centennial  anni- 
versary may  find  our  governmental  structure  clean,  pure, 
and  spotless  in  all  its  parts,  and  every  officer  conscious  of 
the  fact  that  he  is  vested  with  a  sacred  trust,  for  the 
proper  administration  of  which  he  will  be  held  to  a  strict 
account. 


POEM  BEFORE  THE  ALUMNI. 

THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW,  OR  CHANGES  OF  HALF  A  CENTURY. 
By  Rev.  C.  E.  Lindsey,  D.  D. 


Fifty  years  seems  an  adequate  time, 
For  poet  to  build  the  lofty  rhyme, 
But  in  a  task  that's  deferred  so  long. 
The  theme  may  be  better  than  the  song. 
Andrew  Jackson  was  President  when, 
Some  here  to-day  were  much  younger  men. 
The  ordered  seasons  still  come  and  go. 
Yon  river  maintains  its  changeless  flow, 
But  the  once  dark  locks  are  mixed  with  gray. 
The  hearts  are  sobered  that  once  were  gay. 
The  whistle  and  song  are  silent  now. 
Deep  wrinkles  furrow  the  once  smooth  brow, 
And  swift  feet, — half  a  century  back. 
Move  slowly  along  life's  beaten  track. 

Fifty  years! — are  we  half  so  wise 
At  their  close, — as  when  we  saw  their  rise? 
What  knowledge  profound,  how  wide  our  view. 
Could  we  know  all  once  we  thought  we  knew! 
Fifty  years!  they  have  taken  us  down, 
Shaken  the  sceptre,  and  dimmed  the  crown. 
And  taught  us  a  thousand  doubts  and  fears, 
That  never  disturbed  our  youthful  years. 
Yet  such  as  we  are,  with  a  hearty  will 
Doing  our  work,  or  well,  or  ill, 


173 

And  striving  life's  duties  to  fulfill, 

Now  nearing  the  goal, — we'll  not  complain, 

That  we  can't  begin  the  race  again. 

Still  can  we  see  through  memory's  eye, 
Many  a  scene  of  the  days  gone  by. 
'Tis  fifty  years  since  round  yonder  bend. 
Two  lads  were  nearing  their  journey's  end. 
'Twas  early  spring, — from  their  fetters  free. 
These  streams  ran  full  to  the  Southern  Sea, 
Bearing  to  millions  the  ample  stores, 
Gathered  by  toil  from  their  fertile  shores. 
The  hills  shone  clear  in  the  evening  light. 
In  verdurous  robes  with  fringes  white. 
Away  to  the  South  the  forests  rolled 
Their  billows,  tinged  by  the  sunset's  gold. 
While  here  reposed  in  its  quiet  nest. 
The  sweetest  village  in  all  the  West. 

One  of  those  lads,  for  many  a  day 
Has  slept  'neath  the  sands  of   Virgin  Bay, 
The  other  has  come  to  meet  you  here. 
And  take  your  hand,  this  fiftieth  year. 

A  sturdy,  liberty-loving  band. 

Made  the  first  homes  in  this  pleasant  land. 

Sprung  from  the  good  old  New  England  stock. 

Wise  and  prudent,  yet  firm  as  a  rock. 

Here  they  planted  their  germinal  state, 

(The  year  was  seventeen  eighty-eight,) 

And  opened  the  soil  to  sun  and  breeze. 

By  clearing  away  the  forest  trees. 

As  the  axe  resounded,  day  by  day. 

Those  ancient  giants  melted  away. 

And  nobody  singing  "  Woodman  Spare," 

Hill,  valley,  and  plain  were  stript  so  bare. 

That  children  who  love  a  bit  of  shade. 


174 


Must  fill  the  wide  gaps  their  fathers  made. 
"  Our  Blockhouse,"  said  grandfather  Nye, 
"  Was  a  handy  thing;  I'll  tell  you  why:" 
Whenever  Indians  came  about. 
We  po2:)ped  in,  and  our  guns  popped  out. 
Finding  it  thus,  they  stayed  in  the  woods, 
Seldom  molesting  us  or  our  goods." 
Justice,  and  caution  William  Penn 
Used  in  his  dealings  with  savage  men. 
And  this,  no  doubt,  was  the  reason  why. 
They  passed  his  peaceful  settlements  by. 
When  hunting  after  the  white  man's  life. 
With  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife. 
Some  boys  love  to  be  fooling  around, 
Whenever  a  hornet's  nest  is  found. 
Stirring  those  hot  little  chaps  on  wings, 
With  stones,  and  sticks,  and  various  things. 
And  promptly  getting  their  change  in  stings. 
Other  boys  keep  a  little  retired. 
The  moment  they  see  those  missiles  fired. 
And  they  are  the  boys  to  be  admired. 

One  who  has  fought  and  suffered  for  years. 

For  freedom,  is  apt  to  have  his  fears. 

They  wished  to  dwell  where  no  captive's  sigh 

Should  vex  the  ear,  as  the  breeze  swept  by: 

Where  no  clank  of  iron  fetters  grim, 

Should  turn  to  discord  their  sabbath  hymn. 

This  firm  resolve,  like  a  righteous  leaven. 

Lay  deep  in  the  act  of  eighty-seven. 

And  made  the  soil  of  the  North  West  free. 

By  an  irreversible  decree. 

Scanty  time  can  a  pioneer  find. 

To  cultivate  the  graces  of  mind. 

He  may  have  heart,  and  he  may  have  head, 

But  his  is  the  strife  for  daily  bread; 

To  make  in  the  wilderness — a  home: 


175 


He  leaves  the  rest  for  the  years  to  come. 
Training  his  children  in  virtue's  ways, 
He  trusts  to  their  acts  to  speak  his  praise, 
And  now  that  they  sleep  in  honored  graves. 
And  over  their  dust  the  cypress  waves, 
The  church  and  the  college  here  have  sprnng. 
On  the  spot  where  once  their  axes  rung; 
And,  coming  from  regions  far  and  near. 
We,  pilgrims  of  learning,  gather  here. 
To  laud  their  deeds,  with  reason  (and  rhyme), 
And  strengthen  hope  by  their  faith  sublime. 
Search  as  you  may  through  the  distant  past. 
For  the  wise  and  the  worthy,  first  and  last. 
For  great  examples  you  need  not  roam, 
You  can  find  your  heroes  nearer  home. 

The  hour,  and  the  cause  w^hich  brings  us  here. 
Recall  to  our  minds,  my  brethren  dear. 
Those  noble  souls  whose  foresight  sure. 
Wrought  out  a  w^ork  that  shall  long  endure. 
Our  blessings  seldom  have  their  birth. 
As  exhalations  rise  from  the  earth. 
But  oftener  earthward  are  they  sent. 
Like  light  from  the  heavenly  firmament. 
These  goodly  structures  we  look  upon, 
Are  the  prayers  and  toils  of  men  now  gone. 
The  tree  they  planted  has  widely  spread; 
We  pluck  the  fruit,  and  enjoy  the  shade. 
'Twas  theirs  to  contrive,  to  plan,  to  think, 
How  to  dig  the  wells  from  which  we  drink. 
God  gives  them  rest; — but  this  kindled  light. 
Shall  dispel  the  shades  of  error's  night, 
And  shine  aloft  o'er  the  sea  of  years. 
Till  darkness  has  fled,  and  day  appears. 
Flown  are  the  visions  of  wealth  and  fame. 
Vanished  the  spell  of  a  mighty  name. 
But  the  good  man's  works  shall  never  cease; 
They  follow  him  to  the  land  of  peace. 


176 


Are  there  here,  to-day,  some  aged  men. 

Who  have  passed  their  three  score  years  and  ten, 

And  sit  with  us  in  the  evening  glow 

That  touches  the  hill-tops  crowned  with  snow? 

O  well  has  the  great  Lawgiver  said: 

"  Thou  shalt  rise  up  for  the  hoary  head, 

And  honor  the  face  of  the  aged  man. 

Who  hath  overlived  the  common  span." 

Then  how  much  more,  when  with  locks  of  gray, 

A  crown  of  glory  in  wisdom's  way, 

The  old  look  back,  ere  they  strike  the  tent 

For  the  final  march, — on  life  well  spent, 

And  turn  a  serene,  untroubled  eye. 

From  scenes  that  fade,  to  a  home  that's  nigh. 

Veterans!  We  greet  you  with  joy  once  more! 

Long  may  you  linger  with  us,  before 

The  voice  of  the  Master — who  knows  best — 

Welcomes  you  to  the  heavenly  rest. 

O  many  a  time  in  his  after  life. 

Wearied  with  labor,  and  worn  with  strife, 

The  scholar  sinks  to  his  couch  at  night. 

But  his  soul  on  wings  of  dreams  takes  flight. 

A  voice  from  the  past  he  plainly  hears. 

Soundless  to  all  but  his  watchful  ears, 

Calling  him  back  to  that  distant  shore. 

His  mortal  footsteps  shall  tread  no  more. 

Again,  at  a  most  untimely  hour. 

He  hears  the  bell  from  the  college  tower. 

Waken  from  slumber  those  sons  of  toil. 

Who  have  hardly  quenched  the  midnight  oil. 

Because  a  perverse  and  cruel  fate. 

Always  condems  them  to  study  late. 

At  that  sound, — the  dreamer  starts;  but  lo! 

'Twas  a  bell  rung  fifty  years  ago! 

And  yet  it  sends  him  forth  a  roamer 

Among  the  classic  shades  of  Homer. 


177 


Along  the  shore  the  pale  priest  passes, 

Regardless  Kwniaton  Thallasses. 

Old  Euclid's  figures,  lines  and  angles. 

Seem  strangely  decked  with  beads  and  bangles; 

He  dreams  that  thus  he's  no  objections. 

Even  to  a  dose  of  conic  sections. 

Then  higher,  wilder  seems  to  float. 

Upon  a  flying  asymptote. 

That  bell  once  more !  with  a  fearful  yawn, 

He  plunges  to  meet  the  coming  dawn; 

Then  out  at  the  door,  and  down  the  stair. 

Rumbles  and  grumbles  to  morning  prayer. 

Ah,  those  were  the  times  that  tried  men's  soles ^ 

And  their  uppers  too,  when  they  called  the  rolls. 

Making  it  sure  as  nails  in  the  ark. 

That  no  missing  man  will  miss  his  mark. 

The  Tutor  on  high,  from  his  curule  chair. 

Calmly  surveyed  the  bright  regions  where 

'Twas  easy  to  see  by  lighted  lamps 

The  good  boys— w^here  were  the  missing  scamps? 

That  would  puzzle  a  lawyer  to  tell; 

Some  imagined  they  didn't  feel  well, 

Others  laid  all  the  blame  on  the  bell. 

(But  this  was  most  unrighteously  said; 

Sam  Hall  rang  it  to  waken  the  dead.) 

One  wag  declared  himself  "  indisposed," 

Adding — "to  rise" — when  the  book  was  closed. 

Juniors!  be  thankful  that,  in  your  day. 

Going  to  prayers  you  can  see  your  way. 

Yet,  once  in  the  chapel,  and  service  begun. 

There  was  an  end  of  frolic  and  fun, 

And  faces  wore  the  serious  air. 

Which  well  becometh  the  place  of  prayer. 

Then  a  hymn  was  sung,  and  all  joined  in, 

Led  by  the  strains  of  a  violin. 

The  music  may  not  have  been  •'  high  art; " 

Still  it  was  "  praise"  from  a  thankful  heart. 


178 


Shall  not  the  Muse  a  few  warm  tears  shed, 
Over  the  graves  of  our  early  dead  ? 
Gone  from  the  living,  they  yet  are  here; 
Memory  heeds  not  the  pall  nor  bier; 
Beameth  upon  us  each  well  known  face; 
Sitteth  each  form  in  its  wonted  place; 
Soundeth  the  loud  word  spoken  of  yore. 
When  the  strong  hand  smote  upon  the  door. 
Full  of  bright  hopes,  till — son'owful  day! — 
The  sweet  tones  faltered  and  died  away, 
And  the  young  life  vanished  from  our  sight, 
As  meteors  leave  obscurer  night. 
To  call  of  duty  or  trump  of  fame, 
Never  shall  answer  that  silent  name! 
Yet,  as  the  stars  which  rise  not  here. 
Brighten  the  skies  of  some  grander  sphere. 
So  the  friends  from  our  side  withdrawn. 
Bathe  in  the  light  of  some  cloudless  dawn ; 
And  O  may  it  be,  when  life  is  o'er. 
Gathered  with  them  on  that  shining  shore. 
We  shall  know,  and  love  them  all  once  more. 

Various  things  have  been  sung  or  said. 

By  some  ancient  teachers,  long  since  dead. 

Had  Adam  properly  used  his  Cain, 

The  other,  Abel,  had  not  been  slain; 

Nor  the  slayer,  with  the  brand  of  God, 

Wandered  away  to  the  land  of  Nod. 

Solomon  thought  that  the  measures  mild. 

Which  spared  the  young  sapling,  spoiled  the  child. 

Guided  by  such  authorities,  all 

The  race  of  teachers  after  the  fall, 

Went  in  for  measures  sturdy  and  strong. 

And  plied  the  hickory  loud  and  long. 

They  were  sons  of  God^  and  worshiped  force ; 

Down  to  the  water  they  led  the  horse; 

They  led  him  down  to  the  very  brink. 

And  then,  whatever  the  horse  might  think, 

Held  his  head  under,  and  made  him  drink. 


179 


They  all  conceived  of  the  human  mind 
As  pulp,  and  the  body  as  its  rind, 
And  thought  that  to  reach  the  part  within, 
The  readiest  course  was  through  the  skin. 
And  so  they  taught  in  a  striking  way. 
The  lore  and  the  learning  of  their  day. 
"Pure  mathematics,"  when  thus  "applied", 
They  reckoned  most  certain  to  abide; 
While  rules  of  grammar,  and  gems  of  thought, 
Would  be  recalled  by  each  tender  spot. 
Their  system- — it  cracked  the  hardest  nuts. 
And  their  works  came  out  with  many  cuts. 

Could  it  be  thought  that  any  young  man. 

Would  object  to  such  a  charming  plan. 

Where  teachers  bestowed  a  world  of  fains 

On  their  backs, — to  stimulate  their  byains? 

They  did  object;  they  cheekily  said, 

That  as  for  coming  out  "  deep  read^"* 

Through  being  kept  long  in  water  hot, 

A  lobster  might;  but  a  boy  would  not. 

Knowledge  (quoth  they)   comes  of  reflection. 

Not  through  hypodermic  injection. 

In  short,  they  thought  mind  seldom  grew 

By  beating  its  matter  black  and  blue; 

And  this  new  idea  at  length  prevailed,. 

And  the  young  fry  ceased  from  being  whaled; 

So  that,  in  time,  the  lithe  rattan 

Gave  place  to  the  voluntary  plan. 

Our  early  instructors  left  their  mark 
In  the  growing  tree,  and  not  in  the  bark. 
Sober  in  judgment;  grave  of  speech; 
With  adequate  learning;  apt  to  teach; 
They  were  not  reared  in 'the  tents  of  ease. 
Nor  cradled  upon  dame  Fortune's  knees. 
But,  each  for  himself  by  service  passed 
To  the  quarter-deck  from  before  the  mast. 
They  knew  what  tough  work  the  man  must  do. 


180 


Who  has  to  paddle  his  own  canoe. 
When  youthful  mariners  sought  this  strand, 
To  them  they  offered  a  helping  hand, 
And  sent  them  forth  on  the  voyage,  stored 
With  all  the  learning  they'd  take  on  board. 
Never  did  any  man's  caste  or  creed 
Discount,  with  them,  his  worthier  deed. 
And  of  their  pupils  many  will  rise. 
To  call  them  counsellors  safe  and  wise. 
Their  work  is  done;  they  have  passed  away; 
Their  faithfulness  lives  with  us  to-day. 

Their  system  was  built  on  moral  force : 
Down  to  the  water  they  led  the  horse. 
But  if  to  drink  he  firmly  declined. 
They  sent  him  to  gi'ass  till  he  changed  his  mind. 
The  faith  that  in  them  such  good  fruit  bore. 
Was  Calvinisiic^  down  to  the  core. 
Regardless  of  heresy  or  schism, 
They  stood  by  Westminister  catechism. 
Just  as  a  gunner  sticks  to  his  gun ; 
Nor  were  they  the  men  to  fire  and  run. 
The  amunition  which  they  preferred, 
Came  from  the  arsenal  of  God's  word. 
And  standing  in  the  track  of  their  shot, 
A  man  must  dodge  it,  or  quit  the  spot. 
Positive  doctrines  that  will  not  bend. 
Are  sure  to  'hold  the  fort'  in  the  end. 
And  such  as  these  have  always  shown 
A  sturdy  frame,  and  a  stiff  back-bone: 
Their  power  has  been  proved  by  deeds  sublime, 
As  I  could  relate,  if  I  had  time. 

Western  mind  takes  a  practical  turn. 
The  young  men  vv^ho  came  here,  came  to  learn. 
Having  no  time  nor  cash  to  waste, 
School-boys'  pranks  were  not  much  to  their  taste. 
Hazing^  of  late  so  popular  grown. 


181 


Was  to  those  innocent  souls  unknown. 
Lazy  students  who  wanted  a  row, 
Seldom  troubled  a  man  from  the  plow, 
Hanging  on  tight  when  she  made  her  jumps. 
And  lifting  over  stones  and  stumps; 
Some  youthful  giant  of  six  feet,  two. 
Wearing  a  number  ten  boot  or  shoe, 
(A  lad  like  Thomas  Ewing  would  do,) 
Who  would  quietly  open  his  door, 
Pile  them  in  heaps  on  the  entry  floor. 
Then  mildly  ask:  "are  there  any  more?" — 
Hazing  such  is  a  perilous  charge, 
And  calls  for  a  contract  much  too  large. 
To  gain  distinction,  a  safer  plan 
Is  to  "watch  out"  for  the  six-foot-man. 
And  take  away  his  prize — if  you  can. 

Elective  studies!  seductive  phrase! 

But  never  heard  in  those  early  days. 

No  president  took  the  trouble  then. 

Tenderly  to  inquire  of  young  men 

Whether  they  wouldn't  prefer  to  drop  Greek, 

And  practice  boat-racing  twice  a  week; 

Or  told  them,  if  Latin  proved  a  bore. 

That  they  need  not  have  it  any  more ; 

Or  hinted  that  prayers  and  songs  of  praise. 

Were  relics  of  less  enlightened  days. 

For  our  election  was  made  so  sure. 

That  we  never  dreamed  of  any  cure. 

But  blindly  did  what  we  w^ere  told, 

In  those  new  days,  now  growing  old. 

At  ne'er  a  meeting  in  the  campus. 

Did  we  resolve  no  rules  should  cramp  us; 

Nor  send  committees  in  to  tender 

Terms  of  conditional  surrender. 

When  we  differed  from  the  powers  that  be, 

They  offered  conditions,  and  not  we. 

'Twas  awful  thus  our  minds  to  fetter. 


182 


But  then,  you  see,  we  knew  no  better, 

Than  to  imagine  the  long  tried  plan. 

For  making  a  boy  into  a  man. 

Was  still  the  most  effectual  way: 

That  who  would  command,  must  first  obey. 

Heroes  and  statesmen  of  world-wide  fame, 

Had  to  submit  to  the  very  same. 

'Tis  said  King  James  got  many  a  tannin' 

From  his  Scotch  tutor,  George  Buchanan. 

Poets,  philosophers,  wits,  divines. 

Performed  their  duties, — or  paid  their  fines. 

Great  Milton's  genius  was  not  nipt. 

Because  at  college  he  was  whipt. 

Submission?  Babington  Macaulay 

Was  guilty  of  this  self-same  folly. 

Had  that  snarling  cynic,  Tom  Carlyle, 

Been  sent  to  some  stiff  old  school  awhile. 

Where  the  love  of  man,  and  fear  of  God, 

Were  promoted  by  a  birchen  rod, 

He  might  have  learned  much  better  breeding. 

And  his  "  remains  "  been  fragrant — reading. 

What  history  tells  that  General  Grant 

Ever  answered,  "  I  won't  and  I  can't," 

When  ordered  to  take  some  bristling  fort. 

Or  make  a  swamp  his  summer  resort? 

That  was  a  long  head,  all  will  agree. 

Which  marched  through  Georgia,  down  to  the  sea. 

Is  William  Tecumseh  honored  less. 

For  taking  his  orders  from  U.  S.? 

When  armed  secession  had  done  its  worst. 
And  the  cloud  long  black  with  treason — burst; 
When  rebels  fired  on  their  country's  flag, 
And  hoisted  the  new  Confederate  rag; — 
The  sound  of  that  gun  in  thunder  broke, 
And  the  giant  from  his  slumbers  woke. 
Little  the  ruflfian  who  did  the  deed. 
Knew  to  what  issues  his  shot  should  speed! 


183 


Far  over  the  North  its  echoes  rolled, 
From  Pilgrim's  rock  to  the  Gate  of  Gold ; 
Shaking  the  cities  with  sulphurous  hreath; 
Ploughing  furrows  for  harvests  of  death; 
Calling  from  work-shops  and  lonely  farms, 
The  toilers  of  peace  to  war's  alarms; 
Startling  the  stillness  of  wood  and  glen, 
With  neigh  of  steed,  and  the  tramp  of  men; 
Rousing  alternate  hopes  and  fears; 
Drenching  the  land  with  blood  and  tears; 
Never  to  cease  till  our  flag  should  wave. 
Over  a  country  without  a  slave. 

Happily  ignorant  of  all  this. 

Round  Sumter's  walls  there  rose  such  a  hiss; 

Such  swelling  of  heads  with  empty  brag; 

Such  spitting  of  venom  over  the  flag; 

The  rattle-snakes  were  so  wild  with  joy, 

A  tanner  heard  them  in  Illinois. 

Now  when  he  perceived  what  they  were  at. 

He  left  his  hides  in  the  tanning  vat. 

And  went  to  the  front  one  lucky  day, 

Just  to  inquire  in  a  business  way. 

Of  the  folks  at  headquarters,  whether 

Anything  could  be  done  in  leather. 

They  gave  him  a  job  to  try  his  hand. 

On  the  Tennessee  and  Cumberland, 

And  he  tanned  so  hard  and  tanned  so  fast. 

That  the  toughest  hides  grew  soft  at  last. 

And  although  made  of  obstinate  stuff. 

After  four  years,  they  had  had  enough. 

The  cannon  that  roared  round   Sumter's  walls. 

Flashed  luridly  into  college  halls. 

The  student  saw,  'mid  the  shadow^s  dim. 

The  bust  of  Pallas  frown  upon  him. 

Was  it  the  lamp's  reflected  beam, 

Or  did  those  eyes  with  lightnings  gleam? 


184 


The  spear  in  her  mailed  hand  seems  to  shake, 

And  from  marble  lips  the  goddess  spake. 

"  Boy,  in  the  days  of  which  you  read, 

The  men  who  lived  were  men  indeed. 

Think  how  at  honor's  trumpet  calls. 

The  Greek  host  encamped  around  Troy's  walls. 

What  heroes  bold,  in  that  long  fight. 

Sank  swift  to  the  shades  of  endless  night! 

By  the  deep  they  sleep,  on  that  lone  shore: 

Their  deeds  singeth  Fame  forevermore! 

Bore  not  the  Spartan  to  the  field, 

"  This,  or  upon  this,"  with  his  shield  ? 

When  did  the  Roman  ever  flinch, 

Or  of  his  country  bate  an  inch. 

Till  peace  his  eagle  standards  furled, 

And  Rome  was  mistress  of  the  world  ? 

And  thou ! — is  not  thy  land  to  thee. 

More  dear  than  lands  beyond  the  sea? 

Why  linger  here,  at  ease,  my  son. 

When  freedom's  conflict  has  begun  ? 

Close  up  the  book ;  lay  by  the  pen ; 

March  with  thy  patriot  countrymen: 

The  gown  unto  thy  sword  must  yield, 

When  duty  summons  to  the  field." 

So  spake  a  voice  from  the  mighty  dead ; 

The  student  stared ;  but  the  vision  fled ; 

Only  the  marble  cold  and  still: — 

But  through  his  heart  passed  a  fiery  thrill. 

And  with  the  stirring  roll  of  the  drum. 

Another  and  louder  voice  said:     "Come! 

Hearest  thou  not,  boy,  thy  mother's  call  ? 

Into  the  ranks  of  the  Union  fall ; 

Proclaim  the  tidings  from  sea  to  sea, 

That  this  is  the  year  of  jubilee". 

When  Southward  rolled  the  glorious  wave 
Of  unskilled  valor,  the  land  to  save. 
High  on  its  glittering  crest  of  foam. 


185 


Were  borne  the  darlings  of  many  a  home: 

Tenderly  reared, — now  hurried  afar, 

To  plunge  in  the  waving  tide  of  war. 

How  bravely  those  striplings  fought — too  well 

History  answers  for  me  to  tell. 

From  the  rocky  ramparts  of  Bull's  Run, 

Till  rebellion  fired  its  latest  gun; 

In  many  a  valley  of  the  slain. 

On  many  a  red,  ensanguined  plain. 

Those  student  youths  in  combat  bled. 

And  left  on  every  field  their  dead. 

Even  now, — their  tortured  bodies  fill 

Thy  gloomy  grave-yard,  Andersonville ! 

They  shared  in  Shiloh's  desperate  fight, 

Where  carnage  raged  from  morn  till  night; 

They  toiled  in  Vieksburg's  fiery  siege, 

Climbed  the  steep  sides  of  Mission  Ridge, 

On  Lookout's  top  with  Hooker  fought. 

When  boasting  Bragg  was  napping  caught; 

Where  Sherman  laid  his  lion's  paw 

On  the  wild  hights  of  Kenesaw; 

Where,  on  Red  River,  T.  K.  Smith 

Beat  back  the  Rebs.  with  power  and  pith ; 

In  short, — you'll  find,  if  you  look  with  care. 

That  when  there  was  ought  to  do  or  dare. 

The  omnipresent  student  was  there! 

Student^  I  say,  although  it  might  be 

Long  since  he  took  his  college  A.  B.; 

For  the  true  scholar  keeps  while  he  lives, 

The  impress  his  alma  mater  gives: 

Low  in  the  valley,  or  high  on  the  hill. 

He  is  her  son  and  a  student  still. 

Since  that  exciting,  eventful  day. 
The  busy  years  have  glided  away. 
But  uneffaced  on  the  rolls  of  fame, 
Stands  many  a  youthful  patriot's  name. 
From  hearts  that  loved  them  they  perished  not, 


186 

And  where  they  sleep  is  a  sacred  spot. 
Ever  the  fla^  of  the  free  shall  wave, 
Over  the  known  or  the  unnamed  grave, 
Of  him  who  life  for  his  country  gave. 

Reclining  at  home,  on  peaceful  shelf, 

I  was  called  to  the  toils  of  war, — myself! 

The  drafts  our  way  grew  so  deadly  strong, 

That  even  parsons  were  swept  along. 

And  my  name  appeared  upon  a  list. 

Of  folks  to  be  ground  for  honor's  grist. 

So,  repairing  to  the  field  of  Mars, 

I  sought  for  a  man  with  stripes  or  stars. 

Inquiring  for  whom,  a  sentry  gruff 

Growled :  ''''In  a  months  you' II see  stars  enough.^'' 

Then  a  captain  shouted  from  his  tent: 

"Prepare  to  march  with  your  regiment. 

We  are  ordered  to  McClellan's  aid; 

(He  is  fighting  meanwhile — with  a  spade). 

But  you  don't  look  like  a  man  who'd  shoot. 

And  if  not,  where  is  your  substitute?" 

"Captain,  I  answered,  I  really  hope 

Yon'll  not  tie  me  with  too  short  a  rope. 

I  never  have  volunteered  before ; 

I  am  loth  to  spill  eveij  rebel  gore. 

And  don't  you  think  that  it  might  be  wise, 

To  make  some  sort  of  a — compromise? 

"Ah,  I  expected  a  change  of  heart. 

About  the  time  that  you  had  to  start. 

The  parsons  began  it,  that's  what  they  did. 

But  of  the  fighting  want  to  be  rid. 

With  you,  my  friend,  it  will  never  agree 

To  '  double  quick '  with  light  infantry. 

You're  a  man  of  weight  j  your  place  should  be, 

Along  with  the  siege  artillery; 

Or  in  some  fortress  stanch  and  strong. 

Where  duties  are  short,  and  rations  long." 

*'  You  think  then,  captain,  two  hundred  pound, 


187 


Will  hinder  my  getting  over  the  ground; 
But  when  the  bugle  sounds  a  retreat^ 
You'll  see  one  soldier  spry  on  his  feet." 
The  Captain  smiled;  "  My  clerical  friend, 
You'll  pr'aps  do  better  than  you  intend; 
But  stay;  before  you  fully  engage, 
I'd  like  to  ask  your  Rev'ence's  age.'''* 
"  What  if  I  have  but  a  month  to  serve? 
From  the  claims  of  duty  I'll  not  sw^erve. 
Much  may  be  done  in  a  month,  you  know; 
I'm  called  to  the  war,  and  I'm  bound  to  go; 
And  I  think,-  when  once  /  take  the  field, 
In  less  than  a  month  the  foe  will  yield." 
But  sadly  the  captain  shook  his  head ; 
"We  shall  find  the  war  '  no  joke^  "  he  said. 
Prophetic  words!  I  thought  of  them  when, 
He  bravely  fell  at  the  head  of  his  men, 
And  ended  with  his  parting  breath, 
A  Christian's  life,  by  a  hero's  death. 
This  was  the  nearest  I  ever  came. 
To  smelling  powder,  or  earning — fame. 

One  thing  has  sorely  troubled  my  mind. 
Since  I  left  these  classic  halls  behind. 
And  that  as  ruthless  catalogues  show. 
Was  more  than — several  years  ago. 
In  college,  it  almost  brought  the  tears. 
And  no  solution  yet  appears. 
'Twas  nothing  I  did,  or  failed  to  do; 
I've  repented  of  both; — and  so  have  you. 
Not  that  I  couldn't  employ  my  time. 
With  something  better  than  idle  rhyme. 
The  foolish  things  I  wrote  in  that  way, 
Prepared  me  for  this  eventful  day. 
'Twas  a  deeper  mystery  to  me, 
Than  the  closest  open  polar  sea. 
A  secret  harder  to  discover. 
Than  mind  of  maid  by  anxious  lover. 


188 

Many  a  time,  when  my  work  was  dohe, 
I  sat,  like  old  Caspar,  in  the  sun, 
And  pondered  this  matter  o'er  and  o'er, 
Till  it  became  a  ponderous  bore. 
And  then  I  rose  up  and  went  away. 
To  ponder  again  some  other  day. 
But  when  I  perceived  that  all  must  fail. 
As  Plesiosaurus  with  his  tail. 
Knocked  Iguanadon  over  the  head, 
(Thus  strangely  do  geologists  talk. 
Of  fossils  found  in  the  lower  chalk,) 
My  hopes  of  writing  a  book  fell  dead. 
A  loss  to  publishers,  by  the  way, 
Of  eighty-seven  per  cent  we'll  say. 
I  have  not  a  doubt,  my  brethren  dear, 
Plenty  of  gentlemen  sitting  here. 
Could  solve  this  riddle  or  mystery. 
If  I'd  tell  them  what  it  is, — you  see. 

For  where  is  the  man  with  soul  so  dead. 

That  unto  himself  he  has  not  said, 

"  The  key  to  knowledge  is  in  my  head  "? 

And  where  is  the  man  with  a  proper  pride, 

Who  hasn't  some  theory  cut  and  dried, 

For  straight'ning  all  things  that  crooked  grow, 

In  the  world  above,  or  world  below  ? 

But  just  as  a  preacher  can  always  choose. 

What  he  will  say  to  the  hearers  in  pews; 

Since  even  those  in  the  very  first  row, 

Can  do  nothing  worse  than  get  up  and  go; 

While,  though  they  may  think  it — "all  in  his  eye," 

They  have  not  the  smallest  chance  to  reply: — 

So,  gentlemen,  now,  I  have  the  floor. 

And  don't  intend  to  open  the  door 

To  any  discussion,  wild  and  free. 

For  fear  that  we  might  not  all  agree. 

Besides  which, — in  the  limited  time. 

You  have  devoted  to  hearing  rhyme. 


189 


You  may  be  quite  sure  I  won't  propose, 
To  switch  off  your  minds  to  common  prose, 
Although,  like  a  mound^  some  subject  rose. 

Could  some  warrior  start  with  a  bound, 
Forth  from  the  dust  of  yonder  mound. 
Or  priests  and  people  long  turned  to  clay, 
March  up  again  through  that  "  Covert  Way'''' ; 
What  words  could  express  their  wonder  deep. 
Waking  from  that  Rip  Van  Winkle  sleep? 
As,  standing  upon  their  grand  plateau. 
They  gazed  around  on  the  scene  below, 
Must  it  not  seem  that  their  gods  had  hurled. 
Into  these  valleys  another  world? 
And  if  less  than  this  the  change  appears. 
To  us  who've  been  absent  thirty  years. 
Yet  in  this  age  and  wonderful  land. 
Where  hours  and  changes  go  hand  in  hand. 
Ten  years  transform  the  landscape  more 
Than  centuries  did  in  days  of  yore. 
Thus  we  find  it  this  fiftieth  year; — 
The  old  has  vanished!  the  new  is  here! 
This  quiet  village,  with  grass-grown  streets. 
With  primitive  ways,  and  green  retreats. 
And  room  enough,  and  infinite  space; — 
Alas,  it  has  gone; — and  in  its  place. 
Time  has  a  flourishing  city  made, 
Alive  with  bustle,  and  keen  for  trade! 
New  dwellings  and  railways  greet  the  sight. 
And  folks  make  money  here,  day  and  night. 
But  in  the  year  eighteen  thirty-five. 
People  were  not  quite  so  much  alive. 
Tradesmen  by  daylight  were  brisk  and  bland. 
The  nimble  sixpence  was  in  demand; 
But  over  the  town  when  darkness  spread. 
And  business  seemed  to  be  rather  dead. 
They  shut  up  the  stores,  and — went  to  bed; 
Sleeping  all  night,  the  just  man's  sleep. 


190 


Till  over  the  hills  the  sun  did  peep. 

No  burglar's  alarm  broke  their  repose, 

And  who  the  police  were,  no  man  knows. 

A  drunken  man  was  a  rarer  sight. 

Than  a  blackbird  clothed  with  plumage  white, 

And  if  there  was  a  liquor  saloon. 

It  certainly  shunned  the  glare  of  noon, 

Hiding  itself  in  some  dusky  hole, 

Even  as  the  subterranean  mole, 

Burroweth  downward  toward — sheol. 

Passing  along  through  these  streets  one  day, 
I  saw  an  old  man  across  the  way, 
A  carpenter  armed  with  axe  and  twine, 
Hewing  a  timber  down  to  the  line. 
A  serious  minded  man  he  was, 
Reasoning  wp  from  effect  to  cause; 
A  man  whose  intellect  keen,  though  rough. 
Bade  him  eschew  a  priori  stuff. 
"Father,"  I  said,  "you  are  growing  old. 
Upon  that  broad-axe  relax  your  hold; 
For  sixty  years  you  have  done  your  best, 
'Tis  time  that  you  had  a  little  rest". 
"Young  man,  would  you  many  ills  avoid. 
Keep  always  busy  and  well  employed. 
The  curse  of  our  labor,  since  the  Fall, 
Has  become  a  blessing  to  us  all. 
The  evils  of  life  we  cannot  shun. 
But  Fd  rather  meet  them  one  by  one. 
There  are  two  with  which  I  couldn't  agree. 
If  both  should  come  together  on  me. 
And  these  are  old  age — and  poverty." 
"Deacon,"  I  asked,   (the  office  he  held, 
But  with  its  importance  never  swelled,) 
"Your  thinking  powers  are  wide  awake; 
Blunders  in  logic  you  seldom  make; 
Your  words  are  like  a  well  mortised  joint. 
They  fit  the  subject  and  come  to  the  point; 


191 


Where  did  you  get  such  a  level  head? 

Tell  me,  Deacon,  what  hooks  you  have  read". 

"They  were  not  many,"  the  deacon  said; 

"Chances  for  learning,  when  I  was  a  boy, 

Were  what  few  young  people  could  enjoy; 

And" — pointing  college-ward  with  his  square — 

"We  had  not  any  like  those  up  there. 

The  things  I  learned  in  a  rambling  way, 

Were  gathered  up  piecemeal,  day  by  day. 

Being  debarred  from  library  shelves. 

We  had  to  try  to  think  for  ourselves. 

The  books  we  read  were  very  few, 

But  we  read  them  often,  through  and  through; 

Read  them  over  and  over  again, 

'Till  the  author's  meaning  grew  quite  plain. 

The  chief  that  I  had,  I  got  by  heart. 

And  of  my  thinking  they  formed  a  part. 

My  library  was  not  much  to  view; 

The  Bible  and  Shakspeare  were  the  two. 

That  from  beginning  to  end  I  knew." 

O  wise  old  Christian,  whose  thoughtful  face. 

Beams  on  me  still  with  a  saintly  grace; 

Whose  life  of  labor,  sublime  and  grand 

Through  faith, — no  sceptic  could  understand: 

Of  learning  profound,  although  no  clerk; 

Putting  thy  conscience  into  thy  work; 

Blameless  example  that  closed  the  lips 

Of  men  on  the  watch  for  halts  and  slips; 

Misers  may  toil  their  millions  to  save, 

And  banners  over  conquerors  wave; 

My  humble  tribute  lies  on  thy  grave. 

This  modern  structure  in  which  we  meet, 
In  all  its  appointments  trim  and  neat, 
Is  type  of  the  new  in  aisle  and  seat. 
The  ancient  temple  was  well  enough, 
Though  some  things  therein  were  rather  rough ; 
But  while  there  was  nothing  much  amiss. 


192 


It  could  not  pretend  to  viie  with  this. 

And  the  worshipers  assembled  here, 

Ought  surely  to  read  their  title  clear 

To  mansions  in  the  skies, — nor  fear 

Above  their  sins  and  doubts  to  rise. 

And  sorrows, — and  wipe  their  weeping  eyes. 

Whether  you  are  more  devout  to-day. 

Than  your  fathers  were, — I  cannot  say; 

But  this  one  thing  I  declare  and  know, 

That  in  the  worship  of  long  ago. 

When  parson  Wickes  in  the  pulpit  stood, 

The  preaching  was  fair, — the  singing  good; 

For  I  remember  a  long,  bright  row 

Of  girls  and  boys  in  the  choir, — you  know. 

While  flute  and  base-viol  flourished  strong. 

As 'we  sailed  in  through  the  Gates  of  song. 

In  our  very  best  style  we  did  the  praise, 

While  parson  he  tried  the  cross  to  raise. 

And  some  who  sat  in  the  old  old  church  then, 

Seemed  to  my  vision  like  mighty  men; 

They  loomed  with  characters  large  and  grand, 

Princes  and  potentates  of  this  land. 

Woodbridge,  and  Mills,  and  Putnam,  and  Nye, 

Are  names  that  live  in  my  memory. 

And  I'd  give  something,  could  I  turn  back. 

Along  life's  dusty  and  arid  track. 

To  welcome  once  more  life's  morning  glow, 

And  pray  with  those  saints  of  long  ago. 


Why  should  juvenile  students  be  born. 
To  'roll  in  clover'  and  'feed  in  corn'; 
Or,  in  other  words,  when  a  college  is  done^ 
Instead  of  being  but  just  begun  ? 
On  yonder  hill,  the  sights  to  be  seen 
Might  turn  an  old  boy  with  envy  green, 
Had  not  Time  hindered  all  such  display, 
By  washing  the  green  out  with  the  gray. 


193 


And  when  the  catalogue  you  explore, 

Why  do  these  need  a  dozen  or  more 

Professors,  when  we  had  only  four? 

Isn't  it  plain  that  there's  something  dense. 

About  these  boys  of  the  present  tense? 

Or  why  should  they,  while  manhood  reaching, 

Require  such  quantities  of  teaching? 

But  if  it  is  true,  as  I've  heard  say, 

A  man  who  died  the  other  day. 

Left  our  college  some  "  very  hard  cash," 

I  hope  the  trustees  will  not  be  rash. 

And  run  that  legacy  all  to  smash. 

Buying  new^  books,  and  buildings,  and  things. 

Finding,  too  late,  that  riches  have  wings; 

But  let  that  money  accumulate. 

At  some  good  round,  usurious  rate. 

Watching  it  carefully  all  the  while, 

'Till  it  has  grown  to  a  stately  pile. 

And  so,  in  some  happy  by  and  by. 

When  that  pile  has  swelled  to  figures  high, 

"  Our  college,"  from  obligations  free. 

Shall  become  a  university  \ 

Sweeping  this  valley  from  shore  to  shore, 

With  several  thousand  students  or  more. 

'Tis  not  my  business,  I'll  confess,     . 

The  undergraduates  to  address. 

Advice  is  cheap;  and  all  I  can  say 

To  the  lucky  student  of  to-day, 

Is  that,  for  mine^  there's  nothing  to  pay. 

A  better  chance  to  'improve  the  mind'. 

Than  here  is  found  is  hard  to  find; 

And  he  who  has  the  requisite  grit. 

Will  be  sure  to  make  the  most  of  it. 

Lay  your  foundation  broad  and  deep, 

(But  not  when  you  ought  to  be  asleep,) 

Your  house  of  learning  will  stand  the  strain, 

And  you'll  not  have  to  build  it  again. 


194 

There  was  a  clock  hung  on  a  wall, 

Whose  motto  often  I  recall, 

(And  I  wish  that,  in  my  school  boy  days, 

I  had  learned  the  lesson  it  conveys,) 

The  wall  of  Phillip's  Academy, 

In  letters  large  that  all  might  see. 

Every  hour  from  the  hour  of  nine. 

The  hands  seemed  pointing  to  that  line; 

And  as  each  tick  of  the  clock  was  heard, 

It  seemed  to  emphasize  each  word. 

Whenever  the  student  turned  his  head. 

To  watch  the  moments  as  they  fled, 

On  the  old  clock's  face  these  words  he  read: 

'-'-Toutk  is  the  seed  time  of  life^''  they  said. 

Fathers  and  brethren,  my  task  is  done; 
Please  forgive  an  occasional  pun; 
That  was  a  habit  formed  in  my  youth. 
Which  pungent  satire  and  stern  reproof. 
Failed,  alas,  to  eradicate; 
Once  formed,  like  the  iron  laws  of  fate. 
It  masters  alike  the  small  and  great. 
But  I  hope  tKat  some  things  I  have  said. 
May  touch  the  heaft,  though  they  miss  the  head. 
And  if  I  have  pushed  things  to  extremes. 
Filling  your  ears  with  visions  and  dreams. 
All  I  ask  is,  you  won't  complain. 
But  try  your  erring  brother  again. 
Appoint  me  poet  centennial  year ; 
As  sure  as  I'm  living  I'll  be  here. 
To  meet  such  of  you  as  shall  appear, 
And  then, — as  I  am  a  living  man, 
I'll  do  the  thing  better,  if  I  can. 
And  now,  farewell !  'tis  a  parting  word, 
In  our  changing  world  full  often  heard ; 
But  when  from  these  earthly  fetters  free, 
We'll  hold  an  eternal  jubilee. 


After  Dinner  Public  Meeting, 

AT  CITY  HALL,  WEDNESDAY  AFTERNOON, 
Hon.  a.  T.  Goshorn  in  the  Chair. 


Gen.  Goshorn  spoke  as  follows: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — The  Alumni  were  Invited  to 
dinner  this  afternoon  under  the  impression  that  the  usual 
speech-making  and  brotherly  greetings  would  take  place 
around  the  dinner  table ;  but  instead  we  find  ourselves  in  this 
commodious  town-hall  about  to  engage  in  more  formal  pro- 
ceedings, perhaps  with  more  than  the  accustomed  dignity,  but 
I  trust  with  no  less  earnestness  and  good  cheer.  I  assure  you 
that  when  I  say  I  am  embarrassed  in  the  presence  of  so  many 
beautiful  ladies,  I  only  voice  the  feelings  of  these  timid  gentle- 
men about  me  on  the  stage,  several  of  whom,  further  along, 
I  shall  command  to  stand  before  you  and  apologize  for  their 
presence  here  in  their  own  language. 

This  is  a  departure  from  our  usual  custom,  but  it  is  an  un- 
usual occasion.  Those  of  you  who  have  attained  the  tender 
age  of  fifty,  and  I  think  there  are  few  of  you  who  have  not, 
will  sympathize  with  the  spirit  and  hopes  of  this  gathering  of  the 
children  about  the  Alma  Mater.  We  are  celebrating  the  Semi- 
centennial of  the  life  of  Marietta  College.  It  is  therefore  al- 
together appropriate  that  we  should  call  to  this  after-dinner 
feast  not  only  the  alumni,  young  again  in  the  memories  of  col- 
lege days,  but  all  the  friends  of  the  institution,  and  especially 
the  citizens  of  this  goodly  town,  with  their  wives,  daughters? 
and  the  guests  within  their  homes. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  announce,  that  notwithstanding  the  change 


196 

of  our  yearly  programme,  there  are  gentlemen  with  us  fully 
prepared  to  respond  to  the  sentiments,  a  list  of  which  has  been 
placed  in  my  hand. 

I  find  that  the  first  sentiment  is  our  "Alma  Mater."  Evi- 
dently from  the  appearance  of  this  paper  it  was  intended  that 
I  should  reply  to  this  toast;  and  it  is  equally  evident  to  me 
that  the  committee  of  arrangements  made  an  error  in 
their  assignment,  through  ignorance  no  doubt  of  the  collusion 
existing  between  President  Andrews  and  myself.  He  has  al- 
ready delivered  my  speech  on  this  subject.  No  one  will  gain- 
say the  ability  of  his  address,  nor  the  thoroughness  of  the 
treatment  of  the  history  of  the  institution.  I  will  add,  how- 
ever, that  I  believe  from  the  influences  of  this  celebration, 
new  life  will  be  infused  into  the  college,  and  that  within  the 
next  academic  year  most  gratifying  progress  will  be  made  in 
all  the  affairs  of  the  institutiou.  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  tell  you 
what  action  has  been  taken  by  the  trustees  in  the  selection  of 
a  new  president;  in  fact,  so  far  as  I  know  in  my  individual 
capacity,  nothing  has  occurred.  In  other  words  I  had  better 
say  nothing  more  about  it,  lest  I  may  deserve  excommunication. 
.[Laughter.] 

I  can  assure  you,  however,  that  the  trustees  during  the  past 
year  have  been  diligent  in  their  efforts  to  secure  a  worthy  suc- 
cessor to  our  beloved  President  Andrews.  If  we  are  as  suc- 
cessful as  we  have  reason  to  hope  we  shall  be,  the  next  com- 
mencement will  find  the  college  encouraged  with  new  life  and 
prosperity. 

It  is  gratifying  to  those  of  us  who  have  been  absent  so 
many  years  to  learn  of  the  continued  co-operation  of  the 
citizens  of  Marietta  in  supporting  the  college.  There  are 
many  familiar  faces  among  you,  but  there  are  also  many  missing. 
Do  not  forget  that  in  accordance  with  the  degree  of  your  in- 
terest in  the  college,  will  there  come  to  you  sympathy  and 
assistance  from  friends  who  are  not  of  your  number.  I  feel, 
after  the  meetings  we  have  had  during  this  anniversary^,  very 
much  encouraged  for  the  future  of  Marietta.  It  behooves 
the  alumni  and  other  friends  of  the  college  to  sustain  the  in- 
stitution in  every  possible  way. 


197 

I  come  now  to  the  first  regular  toast.  Mine,  perhaps,  was  the 
first, but  as  it  is  written  in  Latin,  1  omit  to  read  it.     [Laughter.] 

"  The  State  of  Ohio."  There*  is  a  Shakesperean  sentiment 
coupled  with  this  which  I  will  read: 

"Though  not  clean  past  your  youth,  hath  yet  some  smack  of  age  in  you." 
I  do  not  know  whether  that  sentiment  is  intended  for 
the  State  or  refers  to  his  Excellency,  the  Governor.  I  wish 
to  say  in  behalf  of  the  Governor  that  he  was  my  preceptor 
many  years  ago  and  has  since  been  my  warm,  personal  friend, 
which  is  certainly  a  good  endorsement  and  to  his  credit.  It 
therefore  gives  me  a  double  pleasure  to  present  to  you  the 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  a  friend  of  our  Alma  Mater 
and  an  honorary  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Alumni  of 
Marietta  College.     [Applause.] 

GOVERNOR  HOADLY'S  RESPONSE. 

LADiiis  AND  Gentlemen: — My  young  friend  and  pupil 
who  has  just  taken  his  seat  has  been  in  one  respect  a  bad 
scholar  and  no  imitator  at  all.  He  confessed  it  when  he  said 
he  was  embarrassed  in  the  presence  of  ladies.  He  has  a  right 
to  be  embarrassed  in  the  presence  of  ladies.  I  am  not  em- 
barrassed a  bit.  I  did  my  duty  by  the  fair  sex  twenty-five 
years  ago,  when  the  supreme  joy  and  crowning  happiness  of 
my  life  I  received  from  Dr.  Allen  in  the  person  of  my  wife. 

I  am  very  much  honored  to  be  here,  although  late,  and  be- 
fore I  come  to  the  immediate  work  of  responding  to  this 
toast,  I  can  say  I  am  glad  to  be  here,  because  not  merely 
of  the  fact  that  the  venerable  minister  who  presided  over  my 
marriage,  was  a  professor  in  this  college,  but  I  have  other  per- 
sonal connections  with  Marietta  and  Marietta  College,  which 
arc  very  dear  to  me. 

I  asked  Dr.  Andrews  to-day  if  there  was  any  one  who  ever 
investigated  the  question,  who  was  the  first  college  student 
from  Ohio.  He  could  not  answer,  nor  can  I,  but  this  I  do 
know,  that  the  valedictorian  of  the  class  of  Yale  College 
which  began  this  century,  the  class  of  1801,  my  father's  room- 
mate and  dearest  friend,  was  from  Marietta,  Ohio.  Some- 
where lies  the   dead  body  of    Evelyn    Hart,    son    of    Major 


198 

Jonathan  Hart,  then  an  officer  of  the  United  States 
army,  stationed  at  Marietta.  As  early  as  1797,  nine  years 
after  the  foundation  of  this  settlement,  there  went  from  this 
town  a  student  to  Yale  College  who  graduated  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  century  with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class. 
He  did  not  live  long.  He  is  remembered  only  by  those  by 
whom  his  virtues  have  been  handed  down,  by  the  classmates 
who  lovcd  him  like  my  father,  but  it  is  an  interesting  fact  con- 
nected with  this  town  that  there  went  from  it  to  college  so 
early,  so  brilliant  a  youth,  cut  off,  alas,  so  soon  in  life. 

I  am  to  respond  to  the  toast  of  "The  State  of  Ohio."  And 
the  toast  suggests  very  wisely — what  is  the  Shakespeare  part? 
I  can  explain  it,  you  didn't  hit  the  explanation  at  all: 
"Though  not  clean  past  your  youth,"  has  some  smack  of  a  pun 
in  it,  meaning  that  I  am  nearly  to  the  end  of  my  career  as 
Governor.     [Laughter.] 

"  The  State  of  Ohio."  I  was  once  on  an  ocean  steamer  on 
the  fourth  of  July,  and  w^as  assigned  to  respond  to  a  toast  at  a 
dinner.  I  sat  far  off  in  one  corner  of  the  cabin  and  under- 
took to  make  my  response  from  a  distant  place  and  I  was 
called  to  the  front.  "  Front,"  I  said,  "  wherever  Ohio  speaks, 
there  is  the  head  of  the  table."     [Applause.] 

Now  that  is  the  sentiment  I  have  about  our  State.  It  is  God's 
country  for  a  good  many  reasons,  one  of  which  is  that  it  is  the 
country  of  the  elect,  and  has  been  for  long  years  past. 
[Laughter.]  There  is  no  State,  leaving  out  our  mining 
regions,  in  which  there  is  more  equality  of  possession  and 
more  equality  of  happiness  than  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  There 
is  no  State  in  which  there  is  more  aspiration  for  what  is  better 
than  in  Ohio ;  there  is  no  State  in  which  there  is  more  discon- 
tent with  what  is  mean  and  base,  more  determination  to  live  a 
higher  and  better  life  than  in  Ohio.  Our  State  is  not  finished. 
There  is  much,  very  much  to  be  done  to  make  it  a  perfect 
commonwealth.  Our  citizens,  on  the  male  side,  are  not  per- 
fect. There  is  much,  very  much  to  be  done  to  make  the  men 
of  Ohio  what  they  ought  to  be.  But  there  is  a  striving  to 
elevate  ourselves  above  the  advantages  we  possess  into  a  better 
and   higher  life,   and    to    cast   off  the   dross  which   we   have 


199 

brought  with  us  thus  far.  In  the  beginning,  the  foundation 
of  our  commonwealth  was  laid,  as  is  declared  in  the  ordinance 
of  1787  and  in  both  constitutions  of  Ohio,  on  "  religion,  mor- 
ality, and  knowledge."  These  are  the  three  buttresses,  the 
foundation  pillars,  the  corner-stones  of  the  edifice  which  we 
are  trying  to  rear  in  Ohio — religion,  morality,  and  knowl- 
edge. Passing  over  the  first  and  second  as  belonging  to 
wiser  teachers  than  I,  let  me  speak  for  a  few  moments  of  the 
duty  which  the  State  and  citizens  of  the  State  are  per- 
forming in  endeavoring  to  increase  the  sum  of  knowlege 
among  men. 

Ohio  founded,  no,  not  founded,  but  established  the  common 
school  system  of  Connecticut  as  well  as  her  own,  in*this,  that 
when  Connecticut  gave  the  sovereignty  of  the  twelve  Western 
Reserve  counties  to  the  Federal  government,  she  retained  a 
proprietary  interest  and  founded  the  system  which  has  for  so 
many  years  formed  the  basis  of  her  magnificent  school  system ; 
so  that  Ohio  is  the  basis  of  the  common  school  system  of  two 
States,  her  own  and  that  of  Connecticut. 

When  we  enter  into  life  we  become  citizens,  and  patriotism 
is  our  duty.  When  we  enter  upon  manhood  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  we  become  voters  and  government  becomes  our 
charge,  our  trust,  too  often  neglected  by  even  the  best  among 
us.  For  if  there  be  any  one  duty  which  presses  upon  every 
American  citizen,  and  the  greater  his  advantages  of  learning, 
the  greater  his  knowledge  or  wealth,  the  more  the  duty  is 
urgent  upon  him,  it  is  that  of  taking  an  active  part  in  the 
government  of  his  country,  not  as  an  officer  but  as  a  voter, 
an  actor,  mi  influencer  to  right  opinion  in  others.  But  when 
we  are  graduates,  then  we  are  admitted  to  the  guild  and  fel- 
lowship which,  though  not  more  sacred  in  its  obligations  and 
duties  than  those  of  patriotism,  is  larger  because  cosmopolitan, 
world-wide.  We  are  admitted  into  a  fellowship  of  which 
Homer,  Dante,  of  which  Sir  Isaac  Newton  and  Pythagoras, 
of  which  Shakespeare,  Goethe,  Cervantes,  Schiller,  and  the 
wisest  and  greatest  and  best  of  all  time  are  living  members; 
not  living  in  the  sense  that  their  flesh  is  among  us,  but  living 
in  the  sense  that  their  immortal  part  has  come  to  us  quickened 


200 

as  to-day.  To-day  we  are  members  of  the  glorious  company 
from  which  in  the  flesh,  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  and  Charles 
Darwin  have  just  passed,  from  which,  from  time  to  time,  men 
from  this  and  other  lands  pass  to  the  company  of  the  saints, 
the  scholars,  the  learned  of  all  time.  Knowledge  admits  us  into 
good  company.  There  is  no  bad  company  in  the  society  of 
scholars.  There  is  no  step  down  when  we  are  in  the  road 
that  scholars  walk.  Nothing  vulgar  or  mean,  either  in  the 
pathway,  or  the  thought  that  attends  the  pathway.  The  steps 
are  upward  and  the  thought  is  upward.  And  the  advice  the 
scholar  gives,  the  one  single  lesson  which  he  imprints  and 
impresses  upon  his  juniors,  is  that  while  it  is  day  he  must 
work;  work  in  order  that  scholarship  may  more  abound, 
that  knowledge  may  be  more  widely  diffused,  and  more  in- 
tellect may  be  brought  within  its  sphere,  and  that  more 
facts  and  principles  may  be  learned  from  the  undis- 
covered reservoir  of  which  the  author  and  finisher  is  God. 
"We  stand,"  said  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  "on  a  vast  sea-shore, 
and  are  children  playing  with  its  pebbles."  We  stand  upon  the 
edge  of  a  vast  prairie  from  which  we  have  reclaimed  but  a  lit- 
tle strip.  But  the  cultivators  are  around  us.  All  of  God's 
universe  is  ours,  or  our  children's,  if  we  but  work,  work,  work 
in  the  cause  of  scholarship  and  sound  learning. 

Ohio  has  done  something  too  much  in  some  directions.  She 
has  too  many  colleges.  She  owns  three  State  colleges  to-day 
in  competition  with  each  other.  Two  of  them  are  alive,  the 
other  is  just  waking  from  sleep.  And  all  of  these  colleges 
have  done  in  their  time  good  work.  But  their  work  ought  to 
be  divided;  they  should  not  work  on  competing  or  parallel 
lines;  their  labors  should  be  apportioned  so  that  Ohio  should 
not  retrace  her  own  tracks.  We  have  more  colleges  than  any 
State  in  the  union  in  proportion  to  our  population;  none  too 
many  if  they  were  all  well  endowed,  if  they  all  had  corps  of 
instructors  numerous  enough  to  do  as  the  President  said  this 
morning,  bring  the  student  into  close  contact  with  the  profes- 
sor personally,  which  is  an  advantage  of  a  small  college.  Then 
if  the  course  of  study  could  be  extended,  the  facility  of  in- 
struction   increased,   we  should   be   prepared   to   educate   not 


201 

merely  the  State  of  Ohio  but  the  whole  nation,  and  when  Ohio 
undertakes  to  do  the  work,  she  will  accomplish  it. 

Let  me  illustrate,  I  have  just  come  from  attending  an  ex- 
amination at  West  Point.  There  are  at  that  institution  three 
hundred  cadets  and  fifty  instructors.  There  are  therefore  six 
students  to  each  teacher,  less  than  seven  to  each  teacher  of  the 
staff.  Each  lesson  is  ninety  minutes  in  length,  and  each  sec- 
tion is  attended  never  by  more  than  ten  students.  And  each 
student  is  drilled  in  every  lesson  every  day  by  his  teacher  at 
least  ten  minutes.  Now,  with  that  fact  in  mind,  it  does  not 
seem  wonderful  that  West  Point  produces  such  results.  She 
brings  the  best  mind  of  the  army,  that  is,  the  best  mind  of  the 
nation's  educated  pupils,  in  direct  contact  with  the  student. 

Give  to  the  colleges  of  Ohio  money  enough  to  do  that  work 
in  her  civil  academies  which  is  done  in  the  nation's  military 
college.  Teach  each  student  each  day  in  each  study  by  di- 
rect personal  instruction  of  the  professor,  at  least  ten  minutes, 
and  continue  it  for  four  years,  and  you  will  turn  out  from  each 
civil  college  in  Ohio  a  corps  of  men  who,  whenever  the  war 
of  knowledge  comes,  will  achieve  as  immortal  honor  as  the 
graduates  of  West  Point  in  the  clash  of  arms. 

We  can  not  stop  the  increase  of  colleges  in  Ohio.  They 
will  increase.  In  the  county  in  which  I  live  there  are  three 
colleges  conferring  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  In  the 
next  there  is  another,  Clinton  county  has  another,  Greene 
county  another.  In  Franklin  county  there  are  three.  Think 
of  it.  In  the  county  of  Cuyahoga  there  are  two.  There  are 
in  the  State  of  Ohio  more  than  thirty  colleges  conferring 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  And  the  number  increases, 
and  they  are  not  yet  all  here. 

We  can't  stop  them.  What  are  we  going  to  do  ?  Why, 
build  them  up.  Put  our  shoulders  to  the  wheel  and  strengthen 
the  colleges  which  we  have.  While  we  can  not  decrease  their 
number,  we  can  give  them  the  money  which  will  pay  their 
professors  better,  give  them  better  facilities  for  education.  We 
can  house  their  students  better,  provide  for  better  instruction, 
and  the  result  will  be  this:  that  Ohio  will  become  itself  the 
University  of  the  United  States  of  America.     Each  of  its  col- 


202 


• 


leges  will  be  not  an  isolated,  warring  rival  of  the  others,  bnt 
a  college  in  a  great  university  of  which  the  center  is  the  jDub- 
lic  spirit,  the  high  and  elevated  ambition,  of  the  people  of  the 
State  of  Ohio.  We  shall  not  see  a  surcease  of  the  multiplica- 
tion of  colleges,  and  we  ought  therefore  to  see  an  increase 
of  their  strength  and  their  facilities  for  education. 

To-day  is  Marietta's  semi-centennial  anniversary.  For  fifty 
years  has  the  little  corps  of  professors  who  started  this  institu- 
tion, been  at  work,  sending  their  students  here  and  sending 
them  there.  Consider,  my  friends,  what  good  this  institution, 
with  its  limited  means,  with  its  little  money  and  with  the  com- 
paratively small  facilities  it  has  had,  has  done  for  the  State  of 
Ohio.  Why,  I  have  on  my  table  a  book,  biographies  of  the 
graduates  of  Yale  College  for  the  first  forty  years.  It  was  a 
little  institution  during  that  time,  but  during  those  forty  years 
it  graduated  the  greatest  men  that  Yale  College  ever  sent  to 
the  world ;  and  from  this  college  a  single  man  with  the  gi- 
gantic intellect  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  educated  in  the  schools 
of  modern  philosophy,  would  be  able  to  revolutionize  the 
world.  The  production  of  one  such  man  as  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
of  one  Copernicus,  of  one  Kepler,  one  Galileo,  the  produc- 
tion of  one  Charles  Darwin,  is  glory  enough  for  the  greatest 
university  in  the  world. 

It  is  for  Marietta  to  stand  by  her  college.  I  am  glad  her 
lines  are  lines  that  count.  If  the  guides  and  leaders  of  the 
future  go  into  her  halls  as  undeveloped  young  men,  may  she 
set  their  lines  that  they  may  come  from  her  as  wise,  noble 
leaders,  generous  spirits,  enriched  by  all  the  good  that  the 
ripest  scholarship  can  give  them.     [Applause.] 

"  OUR  TRUSTEES." 

Rev.  Dr.  Moore,  in  response  to  the  toast,  "  Our  Trustees," 
spoke  as  follows: 

I  regret,  as  I  have  no  doubt  you  will,  that  I  am  called  upon 
to  take  the  place  of  Dr.  Pratt,  and  the  more  so  that  he  is  detained 
by  an  affliction  in  his  family.  I  should  have  been  very  far 
from  occupying  this  position  at  all,  were  it  not  from  a  habit  I 
learned  a  good  while  ago  of  obeying  orders.     I  suspect  that  I 


203 

am  the  only  man  in  the  house  who  is  under  the  authority  of 
the  venerated  commander-in-chief  of  the  military  forces  in 
Ohio,  and  as  the  President  of  this  meeting  was  sitting  at  his 
left  hand,  I  took  it  for  granted — perhaps  it  was  a  hasty  infer- 
ence— that  he  had  ordered  me  through  him  to  take  his  place. 
It  is  known  to  you  all  probably, — tradition  at  least  says  that 
in  the  early  days  of  this  then  unborn  republic  and  in  its  inno- 
cent state,  its  Governor  was  a  military  man,  pretty  strict  in  his 
ideas  of  discipline;  there  were  few  laws  and  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  set  them  aside  at  his  pleasure.  The  people  of  the 
State  got  their  revenge  on  him.  For  when  a  convention 
was  called  to  frame  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  they 
concluded,  wisely  or  unwisely,  that  they  would  give  the  Gov- 
ernor as  little  power  as  possible,  and  so  in  time  of  peace  in 
this  great  commonwealth  of  ours,  we  may  walk  around  in  the 
presence  of  the  Governor  without  fear,  with  the  consciousness 
that  our  fathers  left  in  his  hand  as  a  civil  ruler  no  rod  with 
which  to  scourge  us  at  all,  no  power,  save  like  rebellious 
children  we  resist  authority.  For  this  they  put  into  his  hand  a 
sword  at  his  sole,  absolute  discretion. 

I  was  greatly  gratified  in  hearing  the  sentiments  of  our 
Honored  Chief  on  the  subject  of  education.  Some  thoughts 
passed  in  my  mind  while  he  was  speaking  as  to  the  multi- 
plicity of  colleges.  There  are  about  five  colleges  with  some 
twenty-five  universities.  Ours  is  a  college,  and  will  be  a 
college.  It  has  been  preserved  from  the  catastrophe  which 
resulted  to  the  frog  that  ^sop  talks  about,  which  swelled 
itself  to  the  magnitude  of  an  ox. 

I  can  say  for  the  trustees,  that  the  responsibility,  the  labor, 
the  toil,  the  care  of  the  institution  from  the  very  beginning, 
has  been  and  is  necessarily,  largely  and  almost  exclusively,  in 
the  Local  Board.  I  suppose  that  no  institution  which  has 
been  founded  in  our  country  has  had  a  more  able  body  of 
trustees.  All  of  them  have  been  educated  men,  all  of  them  in 
the  best  sense  educated  men.  They  have  shaped  this  institu- 
tion, they  have  given  it  character,  they  have  preserved  it  unto 
this  day  in  those  lines  which  have  ensured  the  growth  and 
progress  of  that  which  was  planted  fifty  years  ago. 


204 

I  need  not  speak  of  the  trustees  as  a  body.  I  can  say  of 
them  from  their  past  history,  and  my  knowledge  of  them  as  I 
come  in  close  contact  with  them,  that  it  is  not  a  barren  trust. 
It  is  no  mere  place  of  honor.  In  my  old  state  of  Pennsyl- 
vania they  used  to  have  in  their  judiciary  system  a  Chief  Judge 
and  two  associates;  and  the  people  called  these  associates  flow- 
er-pot judges,  because,  they  said,  their  only  use  was  to  orna- 
ment the  bench  on  each  side  of  his  Honor,  the  Judge.  Now 
the  trustees  of  this  institution  are  by  no  means  flower-pots,  by 
no  means  designed  to  adorn  the  stage  on  commencement  oc- 
casions, but  I  do  say  there  is  no  body  of  men  who  bear  upon 
them  a  deeper  sense  of  their  responsibility.  Thought  and  care, 
earnest  and  watchful  effort,  belong  to  this  position.  An  hon- 
orable position  it  certainly  is,  a  responsible  position  it  certainly 
is ;  for  what  greater  honor  or  responsibility  can  you  put  upon 
man  than  the  shaping  and  guiding  as  well  as  furnishing  the 
means  for  the  training  of  "  the  young  mind," — the  responsi- 
bility of  deciding  in  an  age  of  endless  invention,  plan,  and  con- 
jecture, when  what  is  old  must  be  done  away  w^ith,  and  what 
is  new  shaped  to  meet  the  actual  demand  of  the  age?  That  is 
the  duty,  the  toil,  the  work  of  the  trustees. 

Aside  from  the  solemn  responsibilities  to  the  living,  comes 
a  yet  more  solemn  and  tender  responsibility  to  those  who  have 
died  and  left  living  men  to  carry  out  their  plans  and  wishes  at 
their  wise  discretion.  It  is  something  to  administer  the  trust 
of  living  men.  It  is  a  graver  responsibility,  when  behind  this 
lie  the  accumulations  of  decade  after  decade,  generation  after 
generation,  and  one  is  called  upon  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of 
the  dead  toward  the  living.  I  am  sure  if  there  is  one  motive 
more  than  any  other  that  will  preserve  us  and  make  us  truly 
progressive,  it  is  the  duty  we  owe  to  the  generation  that  is 
growing  up  of  administering  these  trusts  aright.  Let  me  say 
in  connection  with  ^vhat  has  been  said  by  Mr.  President,  that 
whatever  can  be  done  by  the  earnest  thought,  and  earnest  en- 
deavor, by  the  persevering  labor  of  this  Board  to  advance  this 
institution  in  every  way,  to  provide  for  all  its  wants  shall  be 
done.  The  institution  has  needs,  some  one  says.  It  has  been 
wisely  said,  that  whenever   an  institution   ceases   to   need,    it 


205 

begins  to  die.  Up  to  1846,  Harvard,  from  the  growth  of  its 
own  endowment,  had  an  abundance;  it  had  no  need.  In  1846 
there  came  in  our  colleges  generally  the  spread  of  the  "  scien- 
tific "  education.  Last  year  the  expenditure  of  Harvard 
was  considerably  more  than  the  entire  income  of  the 
institution.  What  is  the  result?  Has  Harvard  died?  Go 
to  Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  Chicago,  and  you  will  find  Har- 
vard there  with  her  circulars  and  agents,  hunting  up,  not 
money,  yes  money,  ultimately,  but  especially  students.  As 
long  as  Harvard  was  rich  and  had  need  of  nothing,  it  ceased 
to  grow.  When  Harvard  began  to  want  it  began  to  grow. 
And  I  don't  suppose  I  should  .be  false  to  my  trust,  should  I 
say  I  hope  Marietta  will  always  want,  always  have  something 
before  it,  something  which  will  require  the  cost  of  our  time, 
our  money,  our  prayers  and  our  earnest  effort.     [Applause.] 

.  Mr.  Goshorn  said:  In  this  connection  it  just  occurs  to  me 
that  one  of  our  trustees,  Mr.  Douglass  Putnam,  has  signed 
every  diploma  for  the  last  fifty  years.  I  hope  he  will  come 
forward  if  to  do  nothing  more  than  make  a  bow  to  the  audi- 
ence. 

Mr.  Putnam  being  introduced,  bowed  to  the  audience  and 
said:  You  all  know  me,  and  I  won't  trouble  you  to  say  any- 
thing more.     [Applause.] 

Chairman:  I  thought  you  would  all  be  interested  to  see 
this  gentleman  who  has  for  the  last  fifty  years  made  so  many 
young  men  happy  by  giving  them  his  signature.  I  may  say 
he  has  always  delivered  the  diplomas.  It  is  a  historic  fact  in 
favor  of  Marietta. 

"  THE  LEGAL  PROFESSION." 

In  response  to  the  toast,  "The  Legal  Profession,"  the  Hon. 
John  F.  FoUett  said: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — I  have  yet  to  find  any  place 
where  a  lawyer  is  not  found,  whether  it  be  a  position  of  pub- 
lic trust,  whether  it  be  to  represent  the  alumni  of  the  college, 
whether  it  be  a  position  in  which  men  of  thought  and  of  ac- 
tion are  called  for,  or   whether  it  be  in  the  humble  walks  of 


206 

life,  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  or  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil;  in  any  station  whatever  the  lavsryer  is  found,  and  usually 
his  voice  is  heard.  [Laughter.]  I  am  not  going  to  stop  now 
and  pay  any  attention  to  the  slanders  that  are  thrown  at  the 
profession.  We  become  so  accustomed  to  them  that  they  are 
perfectly  harmless,  but  there  is  no  profession  or  body  of  men 
so  perfectly  trusted,  in  whose  hands  you  place  such  interests 
as  you  do  in  the  hands  of  the  lawyer.  You  get  fooled  some- 
times. It  is  sometimes  the  case  that  your  trust  has  not  been 
well  reposed.  If  you  have  five  hundred  dollars  to  put  into  a 
bank,  you  stop  to  inquire  about  the  standing  of  that  bank  in 
which  you  place  your  money.  If  you  have  a  claim  of  one 
thousand  dollars  to  collect,  you  simply  ask  if  such  a  one  is  a 
lawyer  of  responsibility,  and  place  it  in  his  hands,  knowing 
that  he  will,  if  he  is  able,  collect  it  for  you. 

I  respect,  as  everybody  else  does,  the  clerical  profession, 
and  also  the  medical  profession.  We  of  the  legal  profession 
have  never  been  disposed  to  exalt  our  office  above  that  to 
which  we  are  entitled,  yet  when  you  take  the  number  of  men 
wjio  are  molding  the  character  of  the  people,  forming  our  in- 
stitutions, developing  the  country  in  all  its  resources,  you  will 
find  two  lawyers  to  where  you  will  find  one  of  the  other  pro- 
fessions, unless  it  is  in  the  malarial  districts.  [Laughter.] 
And  wherever  the  legal  profession  has  gained  a  foot-hold, 
and  it  has  gained  such  foot-hold  wherever  civilization  is  found, 
the  lawyer  is,  except  at  the  death-bed,  one  of  the  first  men 
that  you  call  for.  As  long  as  business  is  prosperous,  or  often 
when  it  is  not  prosperous,  when  adversity  strikes  the  country, 
the  lawyer  is  called  in  to  your  counsels  and  to  do  the  work 
which  you  yourselves  are  unable  to  perform. 

I  have  here  upon  the  platform  with  me  those  of  the  legal 
profession  who  have  honored  that  profession  as  they  have 
honored  other  and  higher  walks  in  life.  His  Excellency,  the 
Governor,  is  a  man  before  whom  1  have  been  practicing  law 
for  several  years,  who  has  ornamented  the  bench  and  given 
us  in  the  very  largest  acceptation  of  the  term  an  example  of 
the  just  judge.  [Applause].  Standing  in  such  a  presence, 
and  with  a  subject  to  which  I  feel  my  inability  to  speak,  I  can 


207 

only  say  that  the  members  of  the  legal  profession  who  have 
honored  Marietta  College  and  the  other  institutions  of  learning 
of  the  country,  are  the  men  who  shaped  our  institutions  at  the 
time  of  their  foundation,  who  have  perpetuated  and  preserved 
them  to  this  time,  and  they  are  the  men  upon  whom  the  coun- 
try must  rely  to  preserve  them  in  their  integrity  and  purity 
for  the  generations  to  come  after.      [Applause]. 

"  THE  CLERICAL  PROFESSION." 

Rev.  C.  C.  Hart,,  of  Logan,  Ohio,  responded  to  the  toast  of 
"The  Clerical  Profession"  as  follows: 

Ladjes  and  Gentlemen: — The  men  who  organized  Ma- 
rietta College  were  grave  men.  The  great  burden  of  their 
hearts  was  to  found  an  institution  by  which  they  could  train 
up  young  men  to  the  Gospel  ministry.  The  question  comes 
up,  how  far  did  they  succeed?  Have  the  anticipations  of  these 
men,  when  they  met  together  and  taxed  themselves,  one  man 
a  thousand  dollars,  another  man  five  hundred  dollars,  and  an- 
other three  hundred  dollars,  at  a  time  when  money  was  worth 
four  or  five  times  as  much  as  it  is  now — have  their  anticipa- 
tions been  realized?  I  think  they  have  been,  and  much  more 
than  they  anticipated.  Out  of  the  nearly  six  hundred  who  have 
graduated  at  this  College,  one  third  of  them  have  gone  into 
the  Gospel  ministry.  You  may  say  that  of  those  connected 
with  the  College,  there  have  been  about  two  hundred  who 
have  gone  into  the  Gospel  ministry.  One  himdred  and  eighty 
carried  with  them  their  diplomas.  Eleven  of  these  went  as 
foreign  missionaries. 

These  men  too  are  found  in  every  State  of  the  Union.  I 
have  come  across  graduates  in  Connecticut,  Mississippi,  Mis- 
souri, Indiana, — plenty  of  them;  they  are  numerous.  Travel- 
ing throughout  Ohio  a  few  years  a^o,  I  found  them  there  as 
well  as  in  the  Eastern  States.  So  you  may  say  that  the  grad- 
uates of  Marietta  College  who  have  entered  the  ministry  are 
to  be  found  in  every  State;  they  are  to  be  found  in  Alas- 
ka, New  Mexico,  in  every  one  of  our  Territories. 

And  wherever  you  find  them,  you  find  them  men  who  are 
endeavoring  to  do  two  things;  first  of  all  to  honor  God  in  the 


208 

ministry  and  to  seek  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men.  There 
are  none  that  Marietta  College  need  be  ashamed  of.  You 
will  find  these  men  holding  up  the  standard  of  life,  not  only 
as  ministers  of  the  gospel,  but  right  in  the  front  rank  of  edu- 
cation. Three  of  them  are  professors,  one  a  professor  in  a 
theological  seminary,  one  of  them  is  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  Lane  Seminary.  About  eight  or  ten.  Presi- 
dent Andrews  said,  are  trustees  in  theological  seminaries.  You 
will  find  them  everywhere  taking  a  stand  in  favor  of  a  higher 
education.  You  will  find  them  superintendents  of  schools, 
teachers  in  high  schools,  and,  where  neither  teachers  nor  su- 
perintendents, giving  direction  to  the  educational  interests  of 
their  towns.  So  that  I  don't  think  you  will  find  a  single 
minister  who  does  not  take  a  decided  stand  in  favor  of  educa- 
tion. You  will  find  them  in  the  very  fore  front  of  every- 
thing that  pertains  to  education,  and  good  morals,  and  that 
elevates  all  mankind  and  gives  tone  to  society.  I  honor  the 
legal  profession.  We  must  have  lawyers.  I  honor  the 
physicians.  I  honor  the  teachers.  We  must  have  them.  The 
truth  is  they  all  go  hand  in  hand,  and  together  represent  the 
kind  of  influences  toward  making  mankind  what  they  ought 
to  be,  which  are  growing  out  of  Marietta  College  to-day. 
[Applause.] 

"THE  JUDICIARY." 

Mr.  Goshorn,  introducing  Judge  Force,  said:  The  next 
sentiment  is  "  The  Judiciary."  This  will  be  responded  to  by 
a  gentleman  distinguished  in  the  war,  who  is  now  holding  a 
very  honorable  position  as  Judge  of  one  of  the  courts  of  Cin- 
cinnati, General  M.  F.  Force. 

Judge  Force  responded  as  follows: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — The  presiding  officer  of  this 
meeting  has  already  explained  that  the  toasts  of  to-day,  which 
would  have  been  disposed  of  down  stairs  at  the  dinner  table, 
amid  the  ease  and  relaxation  enjoyed  by  people  ^vho  have 
dined  well  and  are  chatting  over  the  wrecks  of  the  meal,  have 
been  brought  up  here  and  exposed  to  the  critical  attention  of 
this  cultivated  audience.  Now  toast  is  something  that  should 
be  whipped  off  hot  and  crisp   from  the   fire.     Carry   it   from 


209 

room  to  room,  or  carry  it  from  floor  to  floor,  and  it  is  apt  to 
get  chilled  and  moist.  So  this  afternoon  we  have  to  trust 
somewhat  for  the  acceptance  of  the  toasts  to  the  preliminary 
butter  of  pleasant  words  which  our  presiding  oflicer  has  ad- 
ministered. 

The  Judiciary  of  our  state,  if  we  count  Judges  and  ex- 
Judges,  is  a  very  important  body — in  numbers,  at  least.  It 
was  said  that  on  one  day  during  the  war,  when  a  gentleman  in 
front  of  Willard's  Hotel,  speaking  to  a  group  of  loiterers  about 
the  door,  called  "General!"  nearly  every  one  of  them  answered. 
But  in  time  of  peace,  cedant  arma  togaej  that  is,  judges  re- 
place the  generals.  And  if  I  should  now  turn  to  the  group  on 
this  platform  and  say  "Judge!"  we  can't  tell  how  many  gen- 
tlemen would  answer.     [Laughter.] 

This  body,  important  at  least  in  numbers,  is  not  uniform  in 
value.  There  have  been  judges,  there  are  judges,  whose  work 
is  immortal;  whose  recorded  words  are  marked  by  sound  learn- 
ing, profound  thought,  and  pure  English.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  was  said  of  one  who  had  just  been  elected  to  be  judge,  that 
at  least  he  had  the  advantage  of  going  upon  the  bench  impar- 
tial, having  no  prepossession  or  bias  for  either  side  of  any  legal 
question.     [Laughter.] 

But  the  business  of  the  Judiciary  is  no  trifling  matter.  It 
performs  a  function,  that  must  be  performed  in  some  way,  by 
some  body,  in  every  community  that  is  civilized.  In  all  coun- 
tries there  must  be  some  tribunal  authorized  to  settle  disputes 
between  men.  In  the  absence  of  such,  each  man  must  defend 
his  own  cause  with  his  own  strong  arm,  and  that  is  universal 
warfare;  and  universal  war  is  anarchy.  In  order  that  civili- 
zation may  begin,  there  must  be  some  tribunal  to  settle  contro- 
versies peacefully;  and  that  is  what  our  judiciary  is;  so  a  ju- 
diciary is  a  necessary  condition  of  civilization.  The  law  ad- 
ministered by  courts  envelops  us  all,  at  all  times,  everywhere, 
through  the  whole  course  of  life.  All  disputes  between  buyer 
and  seller,  debtor  and  creditor,  wrong  doer  and  wronged ;  dis- 
puted questions  between  parent  and  child,  between  husband 
and  wife,  are  disposed  of  by  the  law  as  administered  through 
the  judiciary.  The  law  envelopes  us  at  death  and  administers 
property   after   death.     Every  private  person,   every   oflicer, 


^10 

every  society,  every  corporation,  is  subject  to  the  law.  And 
in  this  country  of  written  constitutions,  the  courts  determine 
the  vahdity  or  nullity  of  acts  of  the  legislature. 

Such  a  function  as  the  administration  of  the  law  should  be 
entrusted  to  men,  good,  wise,  and  experienced.  And  the  list 
of  judges  in  other  countries  and  in  this  is  brilliant  with  the 
names  of  men  who  filled  all  the  requirements  of  that  office. 
In  our  National  courts.  Jay,  Marshall,  Story,  Taney,  Curtis, 
and  their  successors  who  now^  worthily  fill  their  places.  Well 
known  names  worthy  to  be  associated  with  them,  come  to  us 
from  the  roll  of  the  Supreme  Courts  of  States,  and  show  that 
largely,  at  least,  the  requirement  has  been  filled  and  the  ju- 
diciary properly  entrusted. 

There  is  a  reason  for  believing  that  the  work  of  the  Ju- 
diciary has  on  the  whole  been  fairly  done.  There  is  no 
country  in  the  world  where  reverence  for  the  law  is  such,  and 
acceptance  of  judgments  of  law  simply  as  such,  is  so  great  as 
in  the  United  States.  Charles  Sumner  said  that  a  simple  con- 
stable can  arrest  any  man  ho\yever  great,  because  the  State 
stands  with  all  its  power  at  the  constable's  back.  I  think  rather 
that  a  constable  armed  with  a  bit  of  paper  can  arrest  any  man 
however  great,  can  paralyze  and  stop  the  work  of  the 
mightiest  corporation,  because  he  is  recognized  as  the  agent  of 
the  law.  If  then  in  this  country  a  reverence  for  the  law  as 
declared  by  the  judgments  of  the  courts  is  so  profound,  that 
is  partly  due  to  the  way  in  which  the  law  has  been  admin- 
istered ;  for  a  large  part  of  the  law  is  law  made  as  well  as  law 
declared  by  those  who  occupy  the  bench. 

In  these  days  when  the  world  has  grown  so  rich,  when 
business  and  society  offer  such  brilliant  rewards,  when  public 
life  offers  a  career  so  inviting  to  many,  these  prizes  attract 
many  from  the  bench.  In  England,  the  Chancellor,  after  a 
term  of  service  however  short,  retires  with  a  peerage,  and 
with  an  income.  Our  National  Judges  maintain  the  dignity 
of  an  office  for  life  and  are  assured  an  income  for  life.  Judge 
White,  many  times  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
this  State,  one  who  lived  a  life  of  strict  economy  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  State,  whose  services  to  the  State  can  scarcely  be 
calculated,  was  shelved  in  his  old  age  and  his  death  hastened 


211 

by  anxiety  for  means  of  subsistence.  The  Judges  of  our  Su- 
preme Court  have  given  it  a  rank  that  makes  it  the  ac- 
knowledged peer  of  the  Court  of  any  other  State.  But  we 
can  hardly  hope  that  men  competent  to  fill  that  oflice  will 
forever  continue  to  perform  eleemosynary  service  for  the 
State.  I  will  say  in  closing,  about  our  Judiciary,  only  this:  as 
for  what  they  have  done,their  recorded  works  speak  for  them ;  as 
for  what  they  aim  to  do,  I  may  say,  that  they  as  a  rule  have  a 
sense  of  the  importance  of  their  function  and  faithfully  try  to 
perform  it.     [Applause.] 


"OUR  MEDICAL  ALUMNI." 

In  response  to  the  toast,  "  Our  Medical  Alumni,"  D.  B. 
Cotton,  M.  D.,  Portsmouth,  O.,  said: 

Mr.  President  and  Feelow  Alumni: — I  feel  highly 
honored  in  being  called  upon  to  respond  to  this  sentiment  to- 
day, and  while  I  regret  that  it  has  not  fallen  to  one  more  com- 
petent, to  one  richer  in  experience,  yet  no  one  is  more  glad  to 
do  honor  to  "  Our  Medical  Alumni.^'' 

It  seems  very  proper,  after  partaking  so  heartily,  as  you 
have  done  to-day,  of  these  viands  so  richly  spread  before  us, 
that  you  should  call  for  a  Doctor.  According  to  the  old  pro- 
verb, "  colics  follow  frolics!!''  and  our  presiding  officer  has 
shown  his  w^isdom  in  thus  early  calling  for  the  doctor,  and  not 
postponing  it  until  he  has  retired  for  the  night,  as  is  the  usual 
custom.  If  my  prescription  should  not  be  to  your  taste,  re- 
member that  "  doctor'' s  stuff''''  is  not  always  pleasant.  Wise 
men  of  all  ages  have  been  accustomed  to  cast  their  shafts  of 
wit  at  our  profession,  but  let  me  warn  you,  one  and  all,  to 
treat  yonr  doctor  with  due  consideration,  lest  he  double  the 
dose  upon  you,  for  you  will  all  have  to  make  his  acquaintance 
sooner  or  later. 

Now  upon  this  Golden  Wedding  Day^  which  commemo- 
rates the  nuptials  of  our  Alma  Mater,  it  is  fit  that  we,  her  sons, 
of  every  age  and  clime,  should  gather  here  with  joyous  hearts 
as  if  returning  to  our  childhood's  home,  and  as  brethren,  after 
a  long  separation,  join  in  toasting,  songs,  and  kindly  greetings; 
and    for   me   by    appointment   to  salute  you^  "  The   Medical 


212 

Alumni,"  more  closely  related  by  a  double  tie,  reared  by  the 
same  loving  mother,  and  afterwards  adopted  and  trained  by 
our  equally  affectionate  foster  mother,  Hygeia. 

"  In  knightly  days  when  Charlemagne  was  king, 

When  troubadours  did  love  and  honor  sing, 

When  queenly  women  ruled  o'er  courts  of  love, 

Conferring  knighthood,  and,  as  far  above 

All  price,  proclaiming  virtue,  honor,  truth — 

To  noble  life  thus  leading  generous  youth — 

In  those  chivalric  days,  the  neophyte 

Who  long  had  sought  to  be  ordained  a  knight 

Was  made,  when  he  his  sword  received,  to  swear 

That  he  for  righteous  cause  alone  would  bare 

That  blade ;  for  Christian  faith  would  boldly  strike ; 

Before  the  weak  would  stand  a  stubborn  dyke. 

Oppression's  flood  opposing ;  and  would  protect 

All  womankind,  and  hold  them  in  respect." 
You  have, 

"  As  did  the  knight  in  olden  time, 

Resolved  with  honest  hearts,  and  true. 

To  wield  the  sword  of  knowledge  in  relief 

Of  sick  and  suffering  ones,  and  those  with  grief 

Bowed  down,  and  over- weighted  with  much  care — 

And  further  did  most  solemnly  declare 

That  you,  in  purity,  and  holiness. 

Would  live  and  exercise  your  art  to  bless 

Womankind ;  from  acts  of  mischief  would  abstain. 

And  all  seductive  wiles ;  and  would  refrain 

From  giving  drugs  for  deadly  purposes. 

Or  vile.    And  when  some  aching  brain  disclosed 

The  secrets  of  a  sad,  or  guilty,  life, 

Which  best  the  world  should  never  know,  lest  strife 

And  ill  example  follow,  you  would  hide 

Such  secrets,  whilst  you  counsel,  whilst  you  chide. 

The  vow  of  knight  of  older  date  and  growth 

Is  this  exalted  Hippocratic  oath." 
Well  .have  you  profited  by  this  double  training,  and  faith- 
fully have  you  followed  these  mother's  counsels.  Having 
chosen  a  laborious,  self-sacrificing  profession,  you  have  devo- 
ted your  lives  to  a  noble  work.  The  profession  of  your 
choice  has  imposed  no  common  responsibilities.  Its  duties 
have  demanded  the  most  unflinching  sacrifice  of  time  and  per- 
sonal comfort,  and  when  not  called  to  the  bedside  of  pain  and 
sorrow,  you  have  been  busy  keeping  apace  with  the  constant 


213 

advancement  in  medical  science.  Every  year  the  boundaries 
of  knowledge  are  extending,  and  every  discovery,  however 
remote  apparently  from  the  domain  of  medicine,  directly  or 
indirectly  furthers  it.  The  distinction  between  mere  knowl- 
edge and  science  continually  grows  clearer,  and  while  you 
exclude  from  medical  science  proper  a  vast  amount  of  the 
learning  of  past  ages,  there  is  now  being  added  that  kind  of 
knowledge,  the  correctness  and  truth  of  which  can  be  proved 
by  actual  demonstration.  You  no  longer  search  for  the  phi- 
losopher's stone,  or  fountain  whose  healthful  waters  shall  give 
eternal  youth  and  beauty,  but  discoveries  of  greater  value  to 
our  race  are  being  added  almost  daily  to  the  common  fund  of 
knowledge,  and  utilized  by  science. 

It  is  said  the  Doctor  of  the  coming  generation  will  be 
largely  occupied  in  the  prevention  of  disease;  that  sanitary 
science  will  make  such  strides  that  in  the  future  the  ounce  of 
prevention  will  supersede  the  pound  of  cure.  Whether  it 
will  be  the  "comma  bacillus,"  or  interrogatio  bacillus,  that  will 
prove  to  be  cholera's  germ,  no  one  may  decide  to-day,  but  the 
indefatigable  labors  and  unremitting  study  given  by  such 
honored  men  as  Koch  and  Pasteur  and  their  coadjutors,  will 
soon  settle  the  question,  what  micro-organisms,  if  any,  are 
the  pathogenic  elements  of  disease.  All  this  vast  research 
and  study,  even  if  it  should  prove  nugatory  on  these  points,  yet 
may  open  up  a  vaster,  richer  field;  as  when  the  unambitious 
miner  looking  for  the  baser  metals  fails  in  the  object  of  his 
search,  but  in  his  wandering  lights  upon  richer  fields  where 
gold  and  precious  gems  abound,  so  nature's  student  as  he 
plows  the  fields  of  science,  exultant  grasps  the  glittering 
gems,  as  furrow  after  furrow  uplifts  them  to  his  watchful  eyes. 
"  To  mortals,  life,"  as  Horace  says,  "gives  naught  without  great' 
labor."  Then,  fellow  Alumni,  press  forward  on  your  way, 
and  never  cease  your  work  until  your  sun  has  set. 

Dr.  Andrews  said:  I  desire  to  say  a  word  in  connection 
with  this  toast  of  the  Medical  Profession  responded  to  by  Dr. 
Cotton.  You  may  remember  that  the  first  President  of  the 
first  corporation  here  was  Dr.  John  Cotton,  father  of  Dr.  Cot- 
ton who  spoke  just  now,  and  he  was  the  President  of  this  cor- 


214 

poration  during  its  existence  as  a  collegiate  institute  for 
three  years  before  Dr.  Linsley  came  to  Marietta.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  in  1810. 

Dr.  John  Cotton  had  three  sons.  They  all  graduated  in 
Marietta,  the  first  in  1838,  the  second  in  1842,  and  the  third, 
who  has  just  spoken,  in  1853.  It  is  not  often  that  three  broth- 
ers graduate  at  the  same  college;  it  is  still  less  often  that  three 
brothers,  sons  of  a  doctor,  become  doctors  themselves.  These 
three  brothers  all  entered  the  medical  ranks,  and  they  are  all 
living  to-day.  One  is  practicing  in  Charleston,  Virginia,  one 
at  Marietta,  and  one  at  Portsmouth.  I  may  say  further  that 
Dr.  John  Cotton  had  two  daughters,  and  those  two  daughters 
married  men  who  received  their  education  at  Marietta,  one 
graduating  and  the  other  not  completing  his  course.  Those 
two  daughters  married  two  Marietta  students,  and  they  were 
doctors.  [Laughter.]  So  Dr.  John  Cotton  had  three  sons 
and  two  sons-in-law  educated  at  Marietta.  Three  of  them,  I 
am  happy  to  say,  are  here  to-day.  I  must  say  I  can  never  for- 
give the  fourth  one.  Dr.  John  Cotton,  for  not  being  here  to- 
day.    [Applause.] 

Mr.  Goshorn  said:  I  cannot  refrain  from  saying  a  word 
about  Dr.  "  Dave  "  Cotton,  who  has  just  spoken.  I  remember 
when  at  College  he  was  frequently  sick,  and  when  I  inquired 
the  cause,  he  said  every  time  he  read  up  on  any  subject  he  got 
the  disease.  That  was  a  sure  sign  that  he  would  make  a  suc- 
cessful doctor.  The  last  time  I  inquired  he  had  got  down  to 
malaria,  and  had  passed  through  it  all  right.  He  is  now  a  liv- 
ing example  of  how  a  man  can  get  every  disease  and  get  safe- 
ly through  it  when  he  studies  it  up  in  the  right  way.  [Laugh- 
ter.] 

The  toast  of  the  "  Press  "  was  to  have  been  responded  to 
by  Mr.  Will  J.  Lampton,  of  Cincinnati.  He  sends  a  response 
which  I  will  ask  Mr.  Gates  to  read. 

"  THE  PRESS." 

All  hail  the  press,  the  mighty  press. 
Whose  wondrous  power  we  must  cofifess, 
Because  confession  in  this  case. 


215 

Can  scarcely  be  much  out  of  place. 
It  strikes  the  wicked  in  their  might, 
And  brings  them  to  a  sense  of  right; 
It  nerves  the  good  to  better  deeds 
And  serves  them  in  their  urgent  needs. 
No  able  statesman  feels  secure, 
Unless  he  has  a  journal's  pure 
Ennobling  influence  at  his  back 
To  give  him  now  and  then  a  whack. 
And  brace  him  up  to  look  with  scorn 
Upon  the  wretch,  who  would  suborn 
The  upright  patriot,  and  to  say:  , 

"  Please  call  around  some  other  day." 
The  preacher  in  his  vig'rous  mood. 
Serves  to  his  people  Sunday  food; 
He  hits  the  civil  laws  a  lick. 
He  jabs  the  officials  with  his  stick. 
He  takes  Dame  Fashion  by  the  neck 
And  shakes  her  till  she  is  a  wreck. 
He  wrestles  Satan  all  the  day — 
Then  watches  what  the  papers  say. 
The  ladies — bless  their  tender  hearts — 
With  all  their  winsome  ways  and  arts, 
Turn  up  their  noses,  without  stint, 
When  anything  is  said  in  print 
About  themselves  or  friends,  and  still 
They  read  the  "  Gossip  "  with  a  will. 
And  rise  into  a  pretty  rage 
If  they're  omitted  on  that  page. 
In  business  too,  you'll  find  the  same; 
The  little  and  the  big  seek  fame. 
But  those  more  willing  thus  to  shine 
Are  glad  to  pay  so  much  per  line. 
The  city  man  puts  money  down. 
But  he  who  lives  beyond  the  town. 
Brings  eggs  or  fruit — a  long  necked  squash- 
Remarking  plainly:  "There,  by  gosh. 
You  editors  I  recken  air 
Not  useter  sich  lugzurious  fare, 


216 

And — and — I  spose  it  ain't  no  harm 
To  say  you  got  'em  from  my  farm." 
Thus  everywhere  they  all  confess 
The  wondrous  powers  of  the  press. 
But  friends,  dear  friends,  the  real  power, 
A  greater  than  the  "  we  "  or  "  our," 
The  backbone  of  the  press,  indeed, 
Is  good  hard  cash.     That  fills  the  need 
Of  those  within  the  Fourth  Estate 
Not  less  than  those  not  quite  so  great. 
The  best  response,  then,  to  the  press, 
•    Can  be  arrived  at,  without  stress — 
Whenever  there's  a  call  to  pay. 
Bring  forth  the  dollars — don't  delay; 
They  make  the  silent  worker  sing. 
They  make  an  editor  a  king — 

And  there  are  no  kings  in  this  noble 
Republic  of  the  free  which  our  forefathers 
Fought,  bled,  and  died  to  rescue  from  the 
Iron  heel  of  the  oppressor  and  so  forth. 

"  OUR  BUSINESS  MEN." 
"  Your  presence  makes  us  richV 

Mr.  Blymyer,  of  Cincinnati,  on  being  introduced,  respond- 
ed to  the  toast  as  follows: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  You  have  heard  from  the 
lawyers,  the  clergymen,  and  doctors.  I  suppose  that  merely  as  a 
matter  of  form  you  want  to  hear  from  the  business  men.  I 
suppose  that  lawyers,  doctors,  and  clergymen,  are  very  neces- 
sary at  times,  but  what  a  jolly  time  they  would  have,  if  they 
simply  had  to  feed  on  each  other.  [Laughter.]  And  all  we 
business  men  have  to  support  them.  They  can't  do  anything 
without  calling  upon  us;  they  can't  even  get  through  a  little 
ceremony  like  this  without  calling  on  business  men. 

As  to  the  business  men  of  our  Alumni,  I  know  very  little 
about  them,  and  so  I  asked  a  friend  who  is  a  business  man 
what  he  knew  about  the  business  men  among  our  Alumni. 
"Well,"  said  he,  "there  is   one   thing   I   have  always   noticed 


217 

about  Marietta  business  men,  if  they  get  knocked  down,  they 
always  get  up  again." 

This  leads  me  to  say  that  I  don't  agree  with  the  remark  of  a 
gentleman  who  said  that  education  spoils  the  making  of  a 
business  man.  It  is  not  education  that  spoils  business  men;  it 
is  the  want  of  education.  Education  is  begun  here  at  the  col- 
lege, it  is  completed  after  we  get  through ;  and  the  reason  so 
many  college  graduates  fail  is  because  they  fail  after  they  have 
left  college  to  master  the  business  they  have  undertaken.  They 
think  that  because  they  have  graduated  at  a  college,  they  must 
begin  on  top  when  they  get  out  of  college,  when  the  fact  is 
they  have  got  to  begin  again  at  the  bottom.  To-day  there 
is  hardly  a  business  in  the  country  that  is  not  starving  for 
want  of  masters,  men  who  have  commenced  at  the  bottom 
and  learned  the  details  of  the  business  from  the  bottom. 

And  this  leads  me  to  say  that  one  of  the  needs  of  the 
business  community  should  be  supplied  right  here  in  Marietta. 
The  tendency  of  business  now  is  toward  foreign  trade.  We 
have  apparently  forgotten  this,  that  we  must  go  abroad  to  find 
a  sufficient  .market  for  our  products.  But  what  can  we  do 
abroad  without  a  knowledge  of  foreign  languages.  For  in- 
stance, the  trade  with  Mexico  is  becoming  an  exceedingly 
important  one.  But  it  is  very  hard  to  find  men  who  have 
the  requisite  knowledge  of  Spanish  to  carry  on  such  trade. 
It  is  my  impression  that  Marietta  will  do  a  good  service  to 
this  country,  as  well  as  advance  her  own  Interests,  if  she  im- 
mediately prepares  herself  for  a  Spanish  Professorship.  We 
must  teach  the  languages  that  are  wanted,  not  simply  as  mat- 
ters of  interest  but  as  matters  of  business. 

The  toast  which  I  was  called  upon  to  respond  to,  I  notice 
may  be  made  capable  of  a  different  interpretation  from  what 
I  think  the  President  may  have  given  it,  by  inserting  a  little 
comma;  let  us  then  make  it  read:  "  Our  business,  men!  "  Men 
of  Marietta,  what  is  our  business?  Have  we  some  business  in 
connection  with  the  College  that  we  have  not  performed. 
There  is  one  thing  that  struck  me  to-day.  I  noticed  that  that 
old  dormitory  is  over  fifty  years  old.  Isn't  it  about  time  that 
the  citizens  of  Marietta  should  prepare  something  modern, 
something  acceptable  to  the  students  they  invite  to  come  here? 


218 

And  as  the  President  states  that  the  citizens  usually  have  put 
up  their  own  buildings,  a  thing  they  certainly  ought  to  do, 
why  wouldn't  it  be  the  thing  for  the  citizens  to  take  hold  to- 
day,— to  organize  and  take  steps  to-day  to  put  up  new  build- 
ings, such  buildings  as  will  not  repel  students  after  they  have 
gone  through  them?  There  are  other  ways  in  which  the 
citizens  can  sustain  the  college,  as  matters  of  business,  but  as 
there  are  others  to  speak,  I  simply  leave  this  with  you.  [Ap- 
plause.] 

Mr.  Goshorn: — You  will  observe  that  all  of  the  gentle- 
men who  have  spoken  have  been  embarrassed  in  the  presence 
of  ladies.  I  now  introduce  to  you  a  gentleman  who  is  not  em- 
barrassed,— the  Rev.  Dudley  W.  Rhodes,  who  will  respond  to 
the  toast,  "  Our  Honorary  Alumni." 

"  OUR  HONORARY  ALUMNI/' 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — Honorary  Alumni  are  my 
theme,  why  should  the  ladies  be  my  song?  I  know  no  war- 
rant which  General  Goshorn  has  by  his  office  to  switch  me  off 
upon  so  alluring  a  track  as  that  he  has  suggested.  It  is  hard 
enough  for  a  man  to  stick  to  his  text  anyhow,  but  when  he 
has  two  texts  given  him  at  the  same  time,  he  is  apt  to  bob 
around  from  one  to  the  other  and  compound  a  speech  like  the 
article  on  Chinese  Metaphysics,  which  the  writer  crammed  for 
from  the  encyclopedia,  first  under  the  head  of  China  and  then 
under  that  of  Metaphysics,  and  combined  the  information. 
Sweet  as  my  second  theme  would  be,  sweet  enough  to  enlist 
the  most  eloquent  tongue  and  most  mellifluous  eloquence,  I 
renounce  it  all  and  take  my  stand  upon  the  colder  pinnacle  of 
the  original  theme,  the  Honorary  Alumni. 

And  yet  they  can  wait  a  moment  until  I  say  that  this  is  not 
an  enviable  position  I  occupy.  I  had  intended  to  rise  at  the 
dinner  table,  with  a  napkin  waving  gracefully  in  one  hand, 
iuid  keeping  my  eye  on  the  bubbling  effervescence  of  a  water 
goblet,  or  the  pellucid  depths  of  iced-tea,  in  a  conversational 
way,  say  my  vapid  little  things,  and  sit  down  amid  those  rat- 
tlings  of  cutlery  and  clapping  of  hands  which  a  tradition  in- 
forms us  are  signs  of  ecstatic  admiration,  but  which  we  know 


219 

by  our  inner  conscience  are  only  relief  signals.  And  here  are — 
I  don't  know  how  many  hundreds  or  thousands  of  people  who 
don't  even  know  we  have  dined,  and  who  expect  formal 
oratory. 

Have  you  ever  dwelt  in  contemplation  upon  the  feelings  of 
a  lover  who,  just  at  the  moment  of  popping  the  question, 
should  find  the  gas  turned  on  full  and  a  large  audience  pre- 
pared to  listen.  Such  a  state  of  affairs  would  freeze  the  blood 
in  the  veins  of  young  love,  and  the  girl  would  never  know 
just  what  she  missed.  [Laughter.]  But  here  in  this  full 
light,  before  these  countless  eyes,  I  propose — to  stick  to  my 
theme,  the  Honorary  Alumni.  ^  [Laughter.] 

The  fact  is,  I  do  not  know  who  the  Honorary  Alumni  of 
Marietta  College  are.  I  know  I  am  one,  and,  by  reasoning 
inductively,  I  know  they  must  be  a  fine  body  of  men.  I  know 
one  other.  We  have  just  heard  that  my  friend,  Governor 
Hoadly,  has  been  elected  an  Honorary  Alumnus.  There  are 
therefore,  two  of  us,  handsome  and  able  men,  who  stand  as  the 
representatives  of  the  entire  body.  The  wisdom  that  has  al- 
ways guided  the  institution  has  not  forsaken  her  here.  I  feel 
that  I — and  the  Governor  are  in  good  company,  and  that  we 
do  indeed  confer  honor  upon  the  alumni.  To  get  a  diploma 
and  become  an  actual  alumnus  is  a  highly  creditable  and  mys- 
terious thing.  I  wonder  how  so  many  men  do  it.  Through 
four  long  years,  they  must  ever  be  on  the  alert,  striving  to  be 
something  other  than  they  seem.  Up  early  for  chapel,  never 
out  at  night,  except  when  they  know  the  Faculty  are  in,  and 
never  in  except  when  they  know  the  Faculty  are  out,  like  the 
two  figures  in  the  barometers,  reciting  with  perfect  assurance 
and  with  a  sense  of  the  ponderousnes  of  great  reserves,  lessons 
which  they  have  read  over  carefully  while  on  the  hop,  skip, 
and  jump  for  the  class  room,  preparing  elaborate  orations  with 
scissors  and  paste-pot, — this  is  indeed  to  deserve  honor,  this  is 
the  way.  Per  aspera^  ad  astra.  Such  men,  in  the  words  of 
him  who  shall  be  nameless,  "  achieve  greatness."  They  are 
the  mighty  architects  of  their  towering  fame.  But  to  be- 
come an  Honorary  Alumnus  is  something  yet  more  august. — 
We  are  not  of  that  busy,  striving,  selfish  world  that  makes 
the  world  its  oyster.     We  Honorary  Alumni  are  of  that  no- 


220 

bier  throng,  those  more  celestial  souls  whom  Milton  de- 
scribes, "  Who  only  stand  and  wait."  [Applause.]  We  are 
suddenly  seized  upon  by  the  College  as  choice  and  beautiful 
spirits  and  find  oui'selves  turned  into  Honorary  Alumni  before 
we  can  say  "Jack  Robinson." 

One  word  in  conclusion,  and  in  less  of  Cambyses'  vein.  The 
present  celebration  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  our  Col- 
lege. It  is  not  only  the  close  of  a  half  century,  but  of  an  ad- 
ministration, a  personal  influence  of  benign  and  powerful  char- 
acter. We  are  standing  at  the  parting  of  the  ways.  Everything 
may  be  uncertain  and  dark  for  awhile,  but  out  of  the  shadows 
will  emerge  the  figure  of  the  coming  leader  and  President.  The 
Divine  love  which  has  guided  this  College  will  designate  the 
man  and  w^e  may  all  prepare  ourselves  to  feel  again 

"  The  wierd  pulsation 

That  we  feel  before  the  strife." 

To  her  Alumni  both  honorable  and  honorary  the  College 
has  a  right  to  look  for  a  wise,  energetic,  and  sustained  support 
of  the  new  President  and  his  administration.  Surely  I  may 
say  in  behalf  of  the  honorary  Alumni  for  whom  I  speak, 
that  we  feel  the  responsibility  which  our  honors  brought  with 
them,  and  that  we  shall  not  be  easily  outrun  in  the  race  of 
greater  usefulness  and  more  steadfast  devotion  to  the  future  of 
Marietta  College.     [Applause.] 

Mr.  Goshorn  said :  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  hardly 
proper  to  retire  from  this  place  without  hearing  from  one  who 
represents  Marietta,  one  whose  modesty  prevents  him  from  sit- 
ting with  us  on  the  stage, — General  Warner.     [Applause.] 

General  Warner,  speaking  from  the  floor,  said:  Mari- 
etta as  a  city  feels  a  deep  intesest  of  course  in  Marietta  Col- 
lege. I  have  learned  myself  a  good  deal,  attending  upon  the 
exercises  this  year,  in  regard  to  the  College  that  I  did  not  know 
before,  being  rather  a  late  comer  and  not  acquainted  with  the 
early  history  of  the  College.  Yet  something  of  its  work  in  the 
last  twenty  years  I  know  and  have  taken  some  little  interest 
in,  not  as  much  perhaps  as  I  ought ;  and  perhaps  the  people  of 
Marietta  have   not  taken  as  much  interest  in  the  Colleo:e  as 


221 

they  ought.  I  was  much  impressed  with  what  my  friend 
from  Cincinnati  said  in  regard  to  that.  The  people  of  Mari- 
etta are  those  after  all,  perhaps,  first  interested;  if  not  first,  cer- 
tainly next  after  the  alumni  of  the  College.  Marietta  has  done 
a  good  deal  in  the  .past  for  the  College,  but  certainly  not  more 
than  Marietta  ought  to  have  done.  If  the  College  is  to  put  on 
new  life,  is  to  take  a  new  start  on  this  its  commencement  an- 
niversary, I  think  it  but  right,  and  no  more  than  ought  to  be 
expected,^  that  the  people  of  Marietta  should  take  a  new  inter- 
est in  the  College  themselves,  that  they  should  put  their  should- 
ers to  the  wheel  and  renew  the  work  of  the  past. 

What  there  is  to  be  done  in  the  future  we  can  only  conjecture. 
New  problems  are  always  arising.  There  are  new  problems 
to  solve,  new  problems  pressing  for  solution.  If  they  are 
solved  rightly,  indeed  if  solved  at  all,  they  must  be  solved  by 
men  educated  for  the  work.  It  takes  educated  brain  to  work 
out  the  questions  that  civilization  imposes  upon  us;  there  are 
problems  of  various  kinds  which  must  be  solved  in  this  country 
in  the  next  half  century. 

We  need,  as  my  friend  from  Cincinnati  has  said,  not  only 
the  dead  languages,  and  I  have  nothing  to  say  against  the  study 
of  the  dead  languages,  but  it  is  not  enough  to  know  and  study 
languages  in  which  men  thought  centuries  ago,  and  in  which 
was  stored  their  learning  and  knowledge,' — besides  knowing 
w^hat  they  thought  who  erected  the  civilization  of  Egypt  or 
Greece  or  Rome,  we  need  also  the  language  in  which  the  learn- 
ing and  knowledge  of  this  age  are  stored,  the  language  of  the 
living  races,  of  the  thousands  of  millions  of  people  who  are 
acting  now,  the  language  in  which  the  business  of  the 
world  is  now  being  carried  on,  the  knowledge  that  has  been 
acquired  within  the  last  half  century.  I  suppose  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  absolute  knowledge  has  been  doubled  in  the 
last  century.  The  progress  of  science  has  been  enormous. 
An  institution  now  must  be  prepared,  therefore,  I  think,  to  do 
more  than  an  institution  was  called  upon  t%(lo  a  half  century 
ago.  The  requirements  of  the  age  are  greater,  and  I  am  sure 
there  is  interest  enough  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  Marietta 
in  her  College  to  do  some  of  the  work  that  is  necessary  to  give 
this  institution  a  new  start,  to  broaden  and  deepen  its  founda- 


222 

tion  so  -well  laid  a  half  century  ago,  that  the  structure  may 
ever  go  on  increasing. 

The  population  of  our  State  and  country  is  increasing  at  a 
rate  we  can  hardly  comprehend.  Since  the  last  census  was 
taken  the  population  has  more  than  doubled.  These  people 
are  to  be  educated.  Some  of  them  must  be  educated  at  our 
College  and  they  must  have  such  an  education  as  the  demands 
of  the  age  require.  There  is  work  for  Marietta  College, 
abundance  of  it.     Let  her  be  prepared  to  do  that  work. 

While  his  Excellency,  the  Governor,  was  speaking  of  West 
Point,  I  could  not  help  working  out  a  little  sum  as  my  atten- 
tion vs^as  called  to  the  system  of  education  adopted  there. 
Fifty  professors  for  three  hundred  students,  with  a  salary  of 
$2,000  a  piece,  makes  education  pretty  costly.  We  might 
afford  that  for  one  man  selected  from  each  Congressional 
District,  but  suppose  we  should  carry  that  out  for  the  whole 
country.  It  would  cost  six  thousand  million  dollars  for  edu- 
cation. That  is  the  way  governments  educate  when  the  work 
of  education  is  thrown  upon  the  government.  But  the  best 
education  has  been  done  by  colleges  that  have  been  obliged 
to  struggle  to  live.  I  therefore  w^ould  be  quite  content  to  see 
this  College  struggle.  It  has  been  said  we  have  to  struggle  to 
live.     So  do  colleges. 

I  know  I  but  express  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of 
Marietta,  when  I  say  that  we  desire  to  see  this  College,  on 
this  occasion,  the  semi-centennial  of  its  existence,  put  on  new 
life,  make  a  new  start.  I  v^ant  to  see  it  enlarged  and  ex- 
tended so  that  the  young  men  from  all  over  the  State  may 
come  here  to  get  that  education  which  they  may  require  for 
the  great  work  of  life,  and  for  the  problems  in  the  near  future. 

I  myself  have  so  much  enjoyed  the  rich  feast  of  these  com- 
mencement exercises  that  I  feel  like  expressing  my  obligation 
to  the  gentlemen  of  the  alumni  and  others.  I  believe  I  am 
justified  in  extending  that  expression  as  the  sentiment  of  the 
people  of  Marietta.     [Applause.] 


Extracts  from  Letters  of  Regret. 


From  Joseph  Perkins,  LL.  D.,  Cleveland,  class  of  1839. 
Mr.  Perkins  died  shortly  after  his  return  from  the  trip  to 
Europe  which  is  mentioned  in  the  letter,  and  his  death  was 
mourned  by  the  whole  city  of  Cleveland. 

My  dear  Mr.  Gates  : — There  are  man}'^  reasons  and  sacred  associa- 
tions, which  would  draw  me  to  accept  your  hospitality  as  proposed.  But 
I  am  just  off  from  a  sick  bed  (six  weeks  fever),  have  not  resumed  any 
business  duties  that  I  can  avoid,  and  am  arranging  for  a  summer's  ab- 
sence if  I  can  find  mj^self  able  to  start  and  make  the  trip ;  will  be  getting 
off  about  the  1st  of  July,  so  I  am  compelled  to  decline  your  most  kind 
invitation.  I  have  a  most  vivid  and  delightful  remembrance  of  Marietta 
days,  and  would  greatly  enjoy  meeting  with  the  friends  of  those  days  if 
it  was  a  possible  thing.  I  am  most  sincerely  yours, 

Jos.  Perkins. 

From  Hon.  Daniel  B.  Linn,  class  of  1840,  Zanesville,  O. 

I  had  hoped  to  be  with  you  the  present  week  to  increase  by  one  the  at- 
tendance upon  the  exercises  connected  with  the  College  Commencement. 
I  find,  at  the  latest  moment,  I  am  to  be  denied  that  pleasure.  Fate,  cruel, 
inexorable  fate,  has  so  decreed  and  I  must  obey.  I  have  all  along  prom- 
ised myself  a  week's  most  enjoyable  recreation  and  now  that  I  am  to  be 
disappointed  I  am  like  a  disappointed  child,  heart-sick,  pouty, — the  out- 
look is  all  gloomy.  I  am  sure  our  dear  Alma  Mater  has  not  a  son  who 
feels  a  deeper  affection  or  cherishes  higher  regard  for  her  than  I  do,  or 
who  rejoices  more  in  her  welfare  and  prosperity.  I  trust  that  in  future 
years  the  sons  that  go  forth  from  her  halls  will  prove  as  true  to  life  and 
duty  and  as  faithful  to  the  obligations  which  the  positions  they  may  hold 
will  impose,  as  have  those  in  the  years  gone  by.  My  class-mates,  Adams, 
Fay,  Lindsley,  I  doubt  not  they  will  all  be  present.  How  I  would  rejoice 
to  see  the  "  old  boys  "  once  more  and  how  gratified  to  grasp  each  by  the 
hand.  Be  pleased  to  extend  them  for  me  the  warmest  greeting  that 
language  can  convey,  and  assure  them  each  and  all,  that  though  long 


224 

years  have  intervened  since  we  separated,  I  still  retain  the  most  lively 
recollection  of  the  days  when  "  we  clamb  the  hill  thegither." 

Most  sincerely  yours,  D.  B.  Linn. 

From  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Beecher,  Elmira,  N.  Y. 

Indeed  I  do  remember  the  four  trips  made  by  a  little  boy  and  his  hair 
trunk  with  brass  nails  from  Cincinnati  to  Marietta ;  and  all  the  villages 
of  the  river  in  those  anti-railway  days  come  easily  to  his  mind — Mays- 
ville,  Ky.,  Portsmouth,  Hanging  Rock,  Gallipolis,  Guyandotte,  Parkers- 
burg,  Pt.  Harmar,  and  Marietta.  The  old  College  building  with  its  cupola 
and  bell ;  its  rooms  with  turn-up  bedsteads.  The  professors — Maxwell, 
my  instructor ;  Smith,  the  near-sighted,  and  wife,  nearer-sighted,  whom 
we  boys  used  to  M^atch  and  see  them  pass  unrecognizing.  Jewett  with 
gold-bowed  glasses,  immaculate.  Lindsley,  the  President,  with  his  fath- 
erly talks.  Allen,  tall  and  slender.  And  among  citizens— Mills  the  mer- 
chant, father  of  Martha ;  Bingham,  Luther  Bingham,  the  minister  in  the 
old  two-towered  yellow  frame  meeting-house.  Thomas,  who  lived  next 
door  to  Bingham.  Deacon  Nye,  black-eyed  Sunday  School  Superintend- 
ent. Dr.  S.  P.  Hildreth,  who  also  had  a  daughter.  Old  Mr.  Slocomb  just 
opposite  the  college,  and  the  Steeles — Bob  Steele— next  door.  The  fresh- 
ets that  covered  the  Hats  to  give  us  a  chance  to  go  rafting  over  the  fences 
and  look  into  the  new  brick  Baptist  meeting-house.  "  The  Point" — with 
its  horse-posts  along  the  brink  of  the  river  jump-off.  The  wharf -boat 
below  the  island  bar !  The  island  with  its  tangle  and  swimming  places  on 
the  southern  side ! 

Wouldn't  I  enjoy  visiting  these  scenes,  to  mourn  over  their  disappear- 
ance ?  But  I  cannot.  A  visit  to  Milwaukee  and  services  already  prom- 
ised there  on  the  14th  of  June  make  a  second  trip  impracticable. 

The  world  is  not  to-day  what  it  was  then.  I  was  ten  years  old  when  I 
matriculated  [in  the  preparatory]  and  thirteen  when  I  skipped  out  to 
Zanesville  and  Putnam.  I've  not  yet  forgotten  my  alpha^  beta^  gamma 
that  I  learned  to  write  with  pride  on  the  black-board:  all  the  rest 
of  my  Greek  is  gone !  I  can  extract  square  and  cube  roots  still,  and 
translate  with  accuracy,  E  Pluribus  JJnum,  —  thirteen  eggs  set,  one 
hatched — an  experience  not  peculiar  to  young  hens  sitting  in  February. 

Graduated  by  Illinois  College  in  '43,  [of  which  his  brother.  Dr.  Edward 
Beecher, was  president,]  I  still  account  my  Marietta  attainments  the  more 
valuable,  because  more  difficult  and  fundamental.  In  Marietta  I  weighed 
sixty  to  seventy  and  was  shaped  like  an  angle -worm  hungry.  Now  I 
carry  about  with  me  two  hundred  and  five  pounds  and  shall  never  have 
the  tooth-ache  again.  My  Marietta  mates — Geo.  Maxwell,  Frank  Wash- 
burn, Bill  Foster,  Bill  Thomas,  Charley  Foster,  Bob.  Steele,  Sol.  Fay, 
Sam.  Fairbanks,  Fred  Homes ;  the  well  I  helped  to  dig  on  the  hill,  nine- 
ty feet  and  crooked  thro'  the  sand,  and  the  terrace  I  helped  lay  up  and 
sod  with  Prof.  Maxwell,  and  by  his  house — oh  my  !  where  are  the}^;  how 
fare  they '?    You  perceive  that  I  am  getting  old  for  these  memories 


225 

shine  out  through  the  intervening  fogs  and  storms.  Well,  I'm  glad  of  it; 
for  to  become  again  as  a  little  child  is  the  ripening  for  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  Again  assuring  you  of  my  longing  to  visit  Marietta  and  my  regret 
in  view  of  my  inabilit}^  I  have  done  the  next  best  thing,  by  allowing  my 
garrulity  to  prove  to  you  that  I  remember,  I  remember, 

"  How  my  childhood  fleeted  by," 
and  that  you  woke  up  the  right  passenger  when  you  called  me  to  the 
Semi-Centennial  of  Marietta  College.     If,  when  the  day  comes,  any  old 
man  shall  say,  "  Oh  yes,  I  remember  little  Tom  Beecher,"  give  him  my 
love,  send  me  his  name,  and  tell  him  that  Tom  Beecher  remembers  him. 

Thos.  K.  Beecher. 

From  Rev.  Edmund  B.  Fairfield,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Manistee, 
Mich. 

My  dear  President : — O  that  I  had  plenty  of  money  and  about  thirteen 
months  in  the  year,  and  I  should  surely  be  with  you,  D.  V.  I  want  to, 
beyond  all  words  to  tell.  The  old  friends  are  very  dear  to  me.  If  I 
don't  see  them  this  summer,  I  shall  not  be  like  to  do  so  till  we  meet  in 
the  city  that  hath  foundations — and  there  not  to  know  them  without  an 
introduction !  I  don't  like  to  think  of  it !  Twelve  years  ago  I  met  Max- 
well, and  didn't  know  him  at  all !  If  I  do  come,  I  hope  he  will  be  there ; 
and  Tom  Beecher ;  and  Charley  Goddard,  or  has  he  left  us  ? 

I  think  if  somebody  makes  me  a  bequest  of  the  money,  I  will  manage 
about  the  extra  month !  But  with  three  boys  in  college,  (the  Lord  be 
praised  for  six  boys^ — well  and  stout — sana  mens  in  sana  corpore,  every 
one,j  it  is  not  easy  to  go  everywhere. 

But  once  in  fifty  years !  You  and  I  will  be  away  at  the  next  semi- 
centennial, come  to  think  of  it !  I  shall  try  to  come.  If  not  there,  give 
to  all  who  are — especially  of  the  encients — the  heartiest  greeting  from 
one  who  was  of  the  class  of  1842 ! 

Yours  always,  Edmund  B.  Faikfield. 

From  William  H.  Goddard,  Esq.,  class  of  1844,  Washing- 
ington,  D.  C. 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  be  present  at  the  exercises  in  observance  of  "the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  Marietta  College,"  an  occasion  of  interest  to  all 
the  Alumni  and  friends  of  the  College,  present  and  absent,  and  especially 
to  the  surviving  few  of  the  earlier  Alumni,  of  whom  I  am  one.  I  trust 
that  the  attendance  will  be  full  and  the  exercises  most  enjoyable. 

Yours  very  truly,  W.  H.  Goddard. 

From  Hon.  Willard  Warner,  LL.  D.,  class  of  1845,  late  U. 
S,  Senator  from  Alabama. 

I  very  much  regret  to  say  that  business  engagements,  which  I  cannot 
defer  or  neglect,  will  prevent  my  presence  at  the  Alumni  meeting. 

I  am  greatly  disappointed  as  I  long  to  meet  friends  and  associates  of 


226 

my  boyhood,  most  of  whom  I  presume  have  had  the  audacity  to  put  on 
gray  hairs  or  bald  heads  and  assume  to  class  themselves  with  elderly 
men.  But  those  whom  I  have  not  met  since  leaving  college  are  still  boys 
to  me,  as  they  were  when  I  went  to  Marietta  in  1842  from  a  farm  and  a 
log  school-house,  with  my  gray  "  round-a-bout "  on. 

The  first  boy  to  notice  me  and  to  address  me  kindly  was  Charley  God- 
dard,  as  I  stood  in  the  college  yard  looking  lonesomely  about ;  and  then 
began  a  friendship  between  us — earnest  and  true  and  lasting  and  to  last 
with  life. 

With  heartiest  and  kindest  greetings  to  all  of  my  friends  and  to  the 
Alumni  generally,  and  to  your  venerable  and  noble  President  Andrews, 
I  am  yours  respectfully,  Willard  Warner. 

From  Hon.  E.  W.  Wilson,  Governor  of  West  Virginia. 

I  have  delayed  writing,  until  this  late  date,  hoping  that  my  oflBcial  and 
professional  engagemets  would  permit  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  of 
being  with  you,  on  the  1  st  proximo  and  that  I  could  so  write.  I  find  though 
that  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  attend  the  Semi-Centennial,  and  can  but 
express  my  most  sincere  regrets,  because  of  my  inability  to  be  present 
upon  such  an  tnteresting  and  enjoyable  occasion. 

Very  respectfully,  E.  W.  Wilson. 

From  Professor  George  H.  Howis.on,  LL.  D.,  class  of  1852, 
Professor  of  Philosophy,  University  of  California,  Berkeley, 
Cal. 

With  great  regret  I  have  to  say  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to 
cross  the  continent  this  summer,  in  order  to  attend  our  Alma  Mater's  eel 
ebration.     Bear  my  heartiest  good  wishes  to  my  brethren,  and  especially 
to  my  class-mates  of  1852.    Dominus  salvam  facial  Almam  Matrem. 
Fraternally  yours,  G.  H.  Howtson. 

From  Professor  Addison  Ballard,  D.  D.,  formerly  Profes- 
sor of  Mathematics  at  Marietta. 

Please  thank  your  Committee  of  Arrangements  for  me  for  their  kind 
invitation  to  be  present  at  the  exercises  of  your  Fiftieth  Anniversary  the 
ensuing  week,  and  my  sincere  regret  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  attend. 
My  former  connexion  with  the  Faculty  gives  me  a  deep  interest  in  the 
College  and  a  warm  personal  attachment  to  my  former  colleagues  which 
I  have  ever  since  felt  and  which  I  shall  always  cherish.  Allow  me  to 
congratulate  the  Trustees,  the  Faculty,  and  all  the  friends  of  the  institu- 
tion for  the  honorable  name  which  the  College  has  won,  for  the  half  cen- 
iwry  of  thoroughly  good  and  truly  great  work  which  the  College  has 
done ;  and  especially,  also,  to  congratulate  your  noble  President  to  whose 
exceptionally  long  and  faithful  service  the  prosperity  and  usefulness  of 
the  College  have  been  so  largely  due.  I  wish  for  Marietta  a  permanent 
and  ever  growing  success,  such  as  I  am  sure  it  is  but  reasonable  to  ex- 


227 

pect  from  an  institution  which  was  planned  and  has  been  nurtured 
with  so  much  Christian  wisdom  and  with  such  unselfish  devotion  and 
liberality.  Very  truly  yours,  A.  Ballard. 

From  Irving  J.  Manatt,  Ph.  D.,  Chancellor  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Nebraska,  formerly  Professor  of  Greek  in  Marietta 
College. 

Thanks  for  invitation  to  Marietta's  Semi-Centennial.  If  anything  ter- 
restrial could  induce  me  to  venture  upon  the  journey  to  Marietta,  it 
would  be  an  occasion  like  this  Possibly  I  may  work  myself  up  to  the 
point,  but  the  decision  must  wait.  If  absent  in  body,  I  shall  assuredly 
be  with  you  in  the  spirit ;  and  trust  the  dear  old  College  may  find  the 
golden  birth-day  a  beginning  of  new  life.  Very  truly  yours, 

Irving  J.  Manatt. 

From  Hon.  Charles  W.  Potwin,  Zanesville,  O. 
Rev.  I.  W.  Andrews,  D.  D.,  President  Marietta  College : 

My  dear  Sir : — I  regret  very  much  that  I  could  not  attend  the  meet- 
ing. Unfortunately  for  me,  my  business  in  Kansas  usually  requires  my 
presence  at  the  season  of  the  year  when  the  annual  meetings  are  held. 
I  had  hoped  that  you  would  be  in  a  condition  of  health  so  as  to  continue 
service  as  President  of  the  College,  and  that  there  would  be  no  present 
necessity  for  your  insisting  upon  being  relieved.  With  personal  regards, 
I  am  truly  yours,  C.  W.  Potwin. 

From  Rev.  William  H.  Willcox,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Maiden, 
Mass. 

Your  invitation  to  me  to  atttend  the  semi-centennial  of  Marietta  Col- 
lege on  June  28th  is  received.  It  would  certainly  give  me  great  pleasure 
to  be  present  on  that  occasion  and  mingle  my  congratulations  and  re- 
joicings with  the  alumni  and  friends  of  the  college  over  the  work  the 
institution  has  been  enabled  to  do  and  the  prosperity  it  has  enjoyed;  but 
whether  I  can  reasonably  hope  for  the  enjoyment  seems  now  very  doubt- 
ful. But  if  when  the  time  draws  near  I  find  the  way  open  to  accept 
your  kind  invitation,  I  will  certainly  do  so  with  thankfulness. 

I  am  very  glad  to  see  by  the  papers  that  Marietta  is  to  receive  such  a 
generous  bequest  from  the  estate  of  Mr.  Erwin.  May  many  more  such 
wise  friends  of  Christian  education  bless  and  gladden  our  hearts. 

Yours  truly,  Wm.  H.  Wilcox. 

From  Hon.  William  Hyde,  Ware,  Mass. 
Rev.  I.  W.  Andrews,  D.  D. 

My  dear  Sir :— I  thank  you  for  your  invitation  to  your  semi-centennial. 
I  should  like  to  visit  your  place  and  see  the  scenes  of  your  life-work, 
but  I  am  too  far  advanced  to  make  plans  so  far  ahead. 

Very  truly  yours,  W.  Hyde. 


228 

From  Hon.  Samuel  D.  Warren,  Boston,  Mass. 

Oxford,  England,  April  16,  1885. 

My  dear  Dr.  Andrews : — I  have  just  received  an  invitation,  confirmed 
by  you,  to  attend  the  semi-centennial  exercises  of  Marietta  College.  I 
much  regret  that  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  accept  the  invitation,  as  I  do 
not  expect  to  return  to  America  before  the  autumn.  With  high  personal 
regards  to  yourself  and  my  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  the  proposed 
festival,  I  remain  Yours  truly,  S.  D.  Warren. 

From  W.  O.  Grover,  Esq.,  Boston,  Mass. 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  very  kind  invitation  to  visit  you  the  coming 
summer.    Were  circumstances  favorable,  it  would  give  me  very  much 
pleasure  to  accept.    But  they  are  such  that  I  cannot  hope  to  be  able  to 
do  so.    And  can  only  thank  you  sincerely  for  your  thoughtful  kindness. 
Very  truly  yours,  W.  O.  Grover. 

From  Hon.  Elizur  Smith,  Lee,  Mass. 

President  Andrews,  My  dear  Friend : — In  reply  to  your  highly  esteemed 
favor  of  30th  ult.,  I  must  say  that  I  am  not  very  strong  and  am  over- 
burdened with  care.  I  should  like  very  much  to  attend  the  semi-cen- 
tennial of  your  College  but  cannot  spare  the  time. 

Mrs.  Smith  is  well  and  unites  with  me  in  kind  regards  to  you  and  yours. 
Very  truly,  Elizur  Smith. 

From  Hon.  Horace  F.  Waite,  Chicago. 

Pres.  I.  W.  Andrews,  LL.  D. 

Dear  Sir : — Your  polite  invitation  came  duly  to  hand.  It  would  afford 
me  great  pleasure  to  accept  and  I  would  do  so  if  it  was  earlier,  but  at 
that  time  I  expect  to  be  where  I  cannot  well  do  so.  The  little  time  spent 
by  me  at  Marietta  College  was  full  of  happiness  then,  and  the  memory 
of  it  a  source  of  joy  ever  since.  I  hope  some  day  to  revisit  the  College, 
and  in  a  measure  live  over  again  the  past.  With  highest  regards,  I  am 
Yours  (fee,  Horace  F.  Waite. 

From  O.  J.  Wilson,  Esq.,  Clifton,  Cincinnati. 
Dr.  I.  W.  Andrews : 

My  dear  Sir : — Accept  the  thanks  of  Mrs.  Wilson  and  myself  for  your 
kind  invitation  to  the  Marietta  College  semi-centennial  of  this  summer. 
It  will  give  us  very  great  pleasure  to  be  present  at  so  interesting  a  time, 
and,  health  peimitting,  you  can  count  upon  our  being  there.  I  congrat- 
ulate the  College,  and  you  personally  as  one  of  its  oldest  and.  best 
friends,  upon  the  valuable  bequest  of  Mr.  Erwin. 

Very  truly  yours,  O.  J.  Wilson. 

[Mr.  W.  was  prevented  by  illness  from  attending.] 


229 

From  Preserved  Smith,  Esq.,  Dayton,  Ohio. 
To  I.  W.  Andrews,  D.  D.,  Marietta,  Ohio. 

It  would  give  Mrs.  Smith  and  myself  great  pleasure  to  accept  your 
very  kind  invitation,  to  be  present  at  the  celebration  of  the  semi-centen- 
nial of  Marietta  College.  The  time  is  so  far  ahead  it  is  impossible  to 
tell  what  my  engagements  will  be,  so  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  definite 
answer.  If  I  find  I  can  be  present,  will  advise  you  in  time.  As  you  sa}--, 
fifty  years  have  made  great  changes  in  Ohio,  and  what  will  the  next  fifty 
years  bring !  It  is  nearly  forty-six  years  since  I  first  came  here,  and 
what  great  changes  I  have  seen  in  this  great  valley ;  and  I  expect  the 
next  fifty  years  will  see  still  greater  changes.  I  rejoice  in  the  bequest  of 
Mr.  Erwin  to  Marietta.  I  hope  others  will  in  time  be  coming  in,  and  do 
not  doubt  they  will.  Xours  truly,  Preserved  Smith. 

From  Hon.  Samuel   Miller,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Age  and  infirmity  prevent  my  accepting  your  kind  and  valued  invita- 
tion to  be  present  at  the  coming  semi-centennial  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  Marietta  College.  Pray  accept  my  good  wishes  for  the  con- 
tinued prosperity  of  the  College,  and  believe  me  sincerely  yours, 

Samuel  Miller. 

From  George  L.  Weed,  Philadelphia,  class  of  1849,  form- 
erly Superintendent  of  the  Ohio  Asylum  for  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb,  and  later  of  the  Wisconsin  Asylum. 

I  have  delayed  responding  to  the  invitation  to  the  "  Semi-Centennial," 
hoping  that  I  might  find  attendance  practicable ;  but  at  last  must  send 
my  regrets,  instead  of  reviving  old  associations  and  enjoying  services 
which  promise  so  much  of  interest. 

Yours  truly,  Geo.  L.  Weed. 

From  Isaac  Naylor,  Galveston,  Texas,  class  of  1851;  Mr. 
Naylor  died  shorly  after  sending  this  letter. 

I  have  received  your  circular  of  March  27th,  1885,  inviting  me  to  be 
present  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  exercises  of  Marietta  College.  I  am 
very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  invitation.  I  have  been  an  in-, 
valid  for  several  months,  and  cannot  therefore  venture  to  promise  that  I 
will  be  able  to  be  present.  Hoping,  however,  that  you  may  have  a 
pleasant  reunion,  and  that  Marietta  College  will  continue  to  fiourish, 
I  am  yours  very  sincerely,  Isaac  Naylor. 

From  Theodore  S.  Case,  M.  D.,  Kansas  City,  Missouri, 
class  of   1 85 1. 

1  regret  to  say  that  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  I  can  be  present  on 
the  occasion  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Marietta  College.  I  regret 
this  all  the  more  from  the  fact  that  it  will  be  the  thirty -fourth  anniversary 
of  my  graduation  day,  and  I  have  not  attended  a  single  commencement 


230 

in  all  this  time.     Doubtless  it  will  be  a  moat  interesting  occasion  and  one 
long  to  be  remembered  by  those  present. 

With  best  wishes  for  the  old  institution  and  all  connected  with  it,  I  re- 
main yours  very  truly,  Theo.  S.  Case. 

From  Hon.  Jas.  Q.  Howard,  New  York  City,  class  of  1856, 
Editor  of  The  Daily  Graphic^  Ex- Appraiser  of  the  Port  of 
New  York. 

As  I  informed  President  Andrews  to-day,  I  cannot  possibly  be  with  you 
at  Commencement.  Please  thank  Mr.  Gates  and  the  committee  for  the 
honor  implied  by  their  duly  appreciated  invitation.  I  must  remain  here 
at  my  post  of  duty.  Ever  yours,  J.  Q.  Howard. 

FromW.  H.  Storrs,  class  of  1858,  Superintendent  of  Schools 
of  Marion  county,  Illinois. 

Your  letter  of  March  27th  was  received  in  due  season  and,  in  reply  I 
wish  to  say  that  scarcely  anything  else  would  give  me  so  much  pleasure 
as  to  be  with  you  to  celebrate  the  ISemi-Centennial  of  Marietta  College. 
I  regret  that  I  am  not  able  to  come ;  but  I  thank  you  very  heartily  for 
your  kind  invitation  and  trust  that  the  Semi-Centennial  may  be  a  happy 
and  successful  meeting,  and  that  Marietta  College  may  go  on  prospering 
as  its  merits  deserve,  and  that  its  success  may  meet  the  wishes  of  its 
warmest  admirers.  I  remain  very  respectfully  yours, 

W.  H.  Storrs. 

From  T,  J.  Cochran,  Esq.,  Cincinnati,  class  of   1859. 

Your  invitation  to  the  Semi-Centennial  of  Marietta  College  came  duly 
to  hand.  I  love  the  old  institution  but  I  shall  not  be  there.  Till  recently 
I  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  the  days  of  the  past  in  Marietta 
College  would  be  reproduced  in  my  own  boy — a  boy  of  boys — but  it  was 
God's  will  to  take  him  before  his  father.  It  would  be  too  painful  to  see 
the  sons  of  the  old  boys  there  happy  with  their  fathers,  mothers,  and 
friends,  and  my  Tom  not  among  them.  May  God  bless  Marietta  College. 
Very  truly  yours,  T.  J.  Cochran. 

From  G.  S.  Franklin,  M.  D.,  Chillicothe,  class  of   1859. 

Am  in  receipt  of  your  invitation  to  attend  commencement  at  the  old 
Alma  Mater.  I  have  often  thought  I  would  come  over  and  participate  in 
the  exercises,  but  something  has  always  interfered  to  prevent  me.  Just 
now,  as  Pension  Examining  Surgeon,  I  am  having  my  hands  pretty  full, 
especially  on  Wednesday,  the  day  I  should  want  to  be  there.  Give  my 
kindest  regards  to  President  Andrews ;  also  to  Professor  Beach,  Colonel 
Putnam,  and  any  other  of  my  class-mates  who  may  be  present.  Wishing 
our  Alma  Mater  a  profitable  occasion, 

I  remain  yours  fraternally,  G.  S.  Franklin. 


231 

From  Henry  M.  Parker,  Elyria,  O.,  class  of  1859,  Super- 
intendent of  Schools. 

I  had  hoped  to  be  at  Marietta  next  week  until  yesterday.  My  plans 
have  so  changed  for  the  summer  that  I  find  it  quite  impossible  for  me  to 
be  there.  I  deeply  regret  this,  as  I  had  hoped  to  meet  and  greet  many 
of  the  ^'  old  boys,"  and  form  the  acquaintance  of  the  younger  men.  I 
trust  you  will  have  a  pleasant  week. 

Your  truly,  H.  M.  Parker. 

From  W.  W.  Mills,  Esq.,  Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  class  of 

.87.. 

Am  with  you  in  spirit,  and  join  in  cheers  for  the  living  and  tears  for 
the  dead,  and  hope  that  the  richest  of  Heaven's  benedictions  may  rest 
upon  dear  old  Marietta  and  her  loyal  sons.  W.  W.  Mills. 

From  Rev.  E.  D.  Morris,  D.  D.,LL.  D.,  Professor  at  Lane 
Seminary. 

Dear  Dr.  Andrews : — About  six  weeks  ago  I  received  an  invitation  to 
the  Marietta  celebration,  to  which  I  did  not  reply  for  the  simple  reason 
that  I  could  at  that  time  give  no  definite  answer.  I  write  now,  at  this 
late  hour,  in  the  hope  that  I  can  get  away  next  week  from  engagements 
here.  It  is  not  quite  so  certain  that  I  will  come,  as  it  is  that  I  desire  to 
come.  I  am  sure  that  you  will  have  a  grand  time,  and  am  glad  that  you 
are  there  to  enjoy  it.  Yours  cordially,  E.  D.  Morris. 

From  Rev.  James  Eells,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Professor  at  Lane 
Seminary. 

I  very  much  regret  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  attend  the  Semi-Centen- 
nial  of  Marietta  College,  to  which  I  am  so  courteously  invited.  I  expect 
to  spend  the  summer  in  California,  and  of  course  shall  be  too  far  away 
for  such  a  pleasure  on  the  28th  of  June.  My  sincere  desire  for  the 
highest  prosperity  of  Marietta  College  will  be  none  the  less  because  I 
must  be  absent.  Yours  very  sincerely,  James  Eells. 

From  Rev.  Llewellyn  J.  Evans,  D.  D.,  Professor  at  Lane 
Seminary. 

It  would  have  given  me  very  great  pleasure  to  express  by  personal  at- 
tendance upon  the  Semi-Centennial  Anniversary  of  Marietta  College,  my 
interest  in  the  occasion,  my  warm  regard  for  the  institution,  and  my 
earnest  desire  for  its  continued  and  enlarged  prosperity  in  the  future. 
During  one  half  of  the  history  of  Marietta,  it  has  been  my  privilege  to 
feel  its  presence  and  its  power  in  Lane,  both  in  its  Faculty,  in  the  presence 
of  Dr.  D.  Howe  Allen  and  of  Dr.  Henry  Smith,  and  in  the  uninterrupt- 
ed succession  of  its  students  who  have  here  completed  their  prepa- 
ration for  their  life-work.  Realizing  thus  how  much  I  owe  to  Lane,  and 
how  much  Lane  owes  to  Marietta,  I  feel  that  I  can  heartily  unite  with 


232 

the  sons  of  Marietta  in  the  congratulations  and  prayers  of  the  approach- 
ing celebration.  Thanking  the  committee  for  their  kind  invitation  and 
regretting  my  inability  to  be  present,  I  remain 

Very  truly  yours,  Ll.  J.  Evans. 

From  Professor  Henry  P.  Smith,  D.  D.,  Lane  Seminary. 

I  have  neglected  to  answer  your  kind  invitation  on  behalf  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangements  for  the  coming  Semi-Centennial  anniversary  of 
Marietta  College.  I  regret  that  I  cannot  now  see  my  way  clear  to  the 
acceptance  of  the  invitation.  I  wish  you,  however,  a  pleasant  and  profit- 
able occasion,  and  remain  cordially  yours,  Henry  P.  Smith. 

From  Hon.  L.  T.  Moore,  Catlettsburg,  Ky.,  formerly  Mem- 
ber of  Congress  from  Kentucky. 

Professional  engagements  compel  me  to  forego  the  pleasure  I  should 
realize  in  being  present  with  you  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Marietta 
College.  My  earnest  hope  is  that  you  will  have  an  enjoyable  occasion, 
with  the  interest  intensified  by  a  full  attendance  of  the  Alumni. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant,  L.  T.  Moore. 

From  J.  W.  Davis,  Esq.,  Lewisburg,  W.  Va. 

Allow  me  to  thank  you  for  the  invitation  to  participate  in  the  observ- 
ances on  the  occasion  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Marietta  College.  I  was 
a  pnpil  in  the  Academy,  out  of  which  the  College  grew.  T  entered  the 
College  at  its  first  session.  I  have  pleasant  memories  of  many  persons 
and  things  about  the  College.  Professor  D.  Howe  Allen  was  professor 
of  mathematics  in  the  College,  and  was  one  of  the  most  lovely  men  that 
it  has  been  my  fortune  to  meet.  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  think  of  him. 
I  am  practicing  the  law  and  our  Greenbrier  Circuit  Court  will  be  in  ses- 
sion on  the  28th  of  June  and  that  will  forbid  me  the  pleasure  of  being 
with  you,  and  this  I  regret  very  much.  Very  respectfully  yours, 

J.  W.  Davis. 

From  J.  M.  Guiteau,  Esq.,  Attorney  and  Counsellor  at  Law, 
New  York. 

My  business  engagements  prevent  my  accepting  your  kind  invitation 
to  be  present  at  the  Semi-Centennial  Commencement  of  Marietta  College. 
I  regret  this  very  much  on  my  own  account  and  as  I  suppose  I  must 
have  been  among  the  first  of  the  students,  though  I  claim  to  have  been 
too  young  to  remember  much  about  it.  In  fact  I  cannot  realize  that  I 
am  fifty  years  old  even  now ;  but  I  suppose  there  are  some  records  lying 
round  which  make  it  useless  for  me  to  deny  it.  It  would  doubtless  be 
interesting  to  those  assembled  upon  the  occasion  to  look  upon  one  of  the 
old  "  fellows,"  just  as  on  the  Fourth  of  July  it  has  always  been  considered 
of  the  first  importance  to  secure  the  attendance  of  some  one  who  "  fit " 
in  the  Revolution.  I  take  great  interest  in  all  that  affects  Marietta  College. 
Very  faithfully  yours,  John  M.  Guiteau. 


riir 


